Maddi Stroke Of Luck Community trip to Bali

“Oh no,” I mutter under my breath as I walk into the Kajane Yangloni Hotel in Ubud on the first day of my group trip to Bali. My eyes scan the 7 steps up to the lobby level. Not a handrail or wall to hold on to in sight. Well this is going to be interesting.

As a hemiplegic stroke survivor, I have drop foot and very limited use of my left arm; therefore scalingsteep steps without a railing to hold on to on my right side occasionally presents challenges. I always feel more comfortable with a railing to hold on to aid my balance. But this time, without one, me and my travelers were going to have to find a way to make do.
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In May, I hosted a group trip for my community all the way across the world in Bali, Indonesia. I love to travel and saw this as a chance to explore a new place and connect with the stroke and disability community. We had 8 amazing travelers on the trip -many of which were stroke survivors themselves.

Everyone in the group had a fantastic attitude and stayed open to trying new things – like exploring Bali on the back of a motorbike, trekking into temples and down into waterfalls - and yes, even tackling the railing-less stairs of our hotel with a smile. I truly couldn’t have asked for a better group to travel with.
While we were a bit thrown off by the unanticipated accessibility challenges in Bali, we all put our best foot forward and figured it out. I loved traveling with this group because we all helped each other out, lending a helping hand to support on steep stairs with no railings. And this is what I love so much about the disability community – we are all here to help each other and figure out how to move forward.