The Guinness World Record Celebrity: It’s Always My First Plane Ride, but It Will Never Be My Last”, Co-Founder Jennifer Ristagno says
Gelgi, 25, stands at 7 feet, 0.7 inches tall. Her proportions are caused by Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes bone overgrowth. She has been a Guinness World Record celebrity since her teen years and holds several record, including the longest fingers on a living person and longest back on a female person.
A recent trip shows a growing awareness of airline accessibility for people with physical differences and disabilities. Historically, air travel has been inconvenient at best for such travelers, and, at worst, abusive and painful
Gelgi said on social media that the journey from start to finish was flawless. Gelgi said that although it was her first plane ride, “it certainly won’t be my last.”
“This resolution encourages governments to collaborate with airlines and disability organizations, and all actors, including travelers with disabilities, to reach solutions,” she said.
She said that they expect the same level of assistance to be offered to everyone in order to ensure that everyone can enjoy freedom of air travel.
TheICAO, a United Nations agency, made a historic resolution that will allow different parts of the industry to work together to improve accessibility, according to Ristagno.
One of the biggest priorities this resolution can help with is the principle of universal design, in which accessibility is built into the structures of buildings rather than treated as an addition or modification.
Traveling With Mobility Aids: The Journey Across America for People with Multiple Legs and Other Disabilities in a World designed for Two-Dimensional Persons
“The root of the challenges airlines face in the loading and safe storage of mobility aids is few have been designed with air transport in mind,” she explains. “That becomes even more challenging as mobility aids grow in size, complexity and weight. There is a risk of injury if they are transporting them.
Design improvements that allow for easier navigation in airports and on planes are some of the long-term solutions being explored by air travel groups.
Bruns, who shares stories from her travels on her Instagram page, has been contacted by fellow travelers with disabilities for advice, and says she sometimes reaches out to others in the community for guidance when visiting somewhere new.
Bruns, who was diagnosed with diastrophic dwarfism at the age of 16, had traveled all 50 states in the US and wanted to see more of the world.
She soon began traveling internationally, visiting nearly 70 countries, including Peru, Cambodia, Laos, Kenya and Turkey in the following two decades or so.
After suffering what she describes as “burnout,” Bruns decided to take a sabbatical from her job as an insurance executive in order to pursue a year of “intense full-on travel.”
Bruns had previously traveled with a family member or her life partner Tony, who she would call on if needed, but she chose to go solo this time.
She says that it has not been easy to navigate a world designed for people with two legs, but that has changed over the past few decades.
In her lifetime, she says she has seen a lot more awareness. “People are much more willing to help. There isn’t a scariness factor in someone with a wheelchair.
Even though perspectives have changed over the years, Bruns still faces barriers while traveling, such as buildings with no elevators or ramps, and bathrooms that don’t have narrow doors.
In the US and many other countries, she says, there is infrastructure and law that is accessible to everyone.
Traveling the World as a Wheelchair User: How Do You Get Up the Steps Leading Up to the Lobby? An Empirical Comment on Bruns
Bruns says she is usually able to get close to the monuments because they are not accessible for wheelchair users.
She reminds herself that she might not be able to see a specific monument. I would be more lucky if I made it to that city or country and saw part of it.
Before heading to a new destination, Bruns tends to spend around a month planning her visit. One of her main priorities is to ensure that she can access her accommodation easily. Emailing ahead to find the layout is usually what this involves.
However, despite the careful pre-planning, it’s not unusual for Bruns to arrive at a hotel or guest house and find a previously unmentioned set of steps leading up to the lobby.
“I’ve had tons of piggyback rides from men all over the world. I have had men help me get up a flight of stairs with the help of women. So it always works out.”
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/traveling-the-world-as-a-wheelchair-user/index.html
Traveling the World as a Wheelchair User: Living in the Desert, Exploring the Aldives, South of the Mediterranean, and Honduras
However, Bruns admits that these miscommunications over infrastructure can be hugely frustrating, “especially when you’re tired and you just want to get to your room.”
One of the worst parts of Bruns’ travel experiences has been the time it takes to get onto a plane, and she wants airlines to make their planes accessible for people with disabilities.
She says it has gotten better in the past two or three years. I don’t want to give the airline too much credit and so I hesitate to even say’slightly.’
Throughout her lengthy travels, Bruns has visited the Maldives, opting to stay on the main island instead of the “big over-the-water bungalow standard,” camped overnight under the stars in Antarctica and gone scuba diving in Honduras.
She recently achieved the Guinness World Record for the person who has traveled to the most countries using a wheelchair in one year, and her long-term goal is to become the fastest person to visit very country in the world in a wheelchair.
However, there are still many travel experiences that others take for granted that are simply not feasible for her. They can be hiking through the mountains or deserts.
Some of the places traveled through on social media are wistfully looking at Bruns. [that] don’t have concrete, asphalt or even paths,” and sleeping in tents.
The Middle East is a place that she wants to go back to. I have found the people there to be incredibly kind and welcoming in the rest of the world. I cannot stop reading about it.”
“I’m really, really curious about the culture [of Saudi Arabia],” she says, before adding that she’s attracted to the biodiversity and nature of Madagascar.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/traveling-the-world-as-a-wheelchair-user/index.html
Why did you do it? What have you learned in the last few years of chemotherapy? How much do you want to do?
“There’s so much hate in the world, but when you really sit down with people from all over the world, [you find that] we are really all the same. It is really refreshing.
“My biggest message would be to all of the young adults and children thinking about doing this, who are afraid to do it, especially if you have limitations, just jump in and do it,” she says. “It’s a big world and there’s a lot to see. You won’t regret it.”
Over the past few years, Bruns says that a number of physicians have questioned whether the diagnosis she received, which was apparently based on physical attributes, all those years ago was actually correct.
Being able to go out to the other side of the world with a limitations and being able to do it by yourself is the biggest confidence booster I think anyone can get.