Blog 10
It has been a while since my last post. I spent five weeks in Germany, and after two weeks at home, I went for a family vacation at the cottage. I will tell you more about the trips in the upcoming posts.
If you look at the top of my page, you might have noticed that I took Painting out of the title of my blog. I thought about the future of my blog during my vacation. My business has expanded with a greater focus on the Learn German Through Art language courses. I still create artworks, but I have realized that for me, art is so much more than creating paintings. I want to use art to enrich people's lives, help them to relax and have fun learning.
My blogs will continue to feature artworks. However, my content will more than ever reflect my experiences and how I use art to cope, explore and capture what happens around me. I want to inspire you to see more ways to use creative expressions to help you in your life.
In today's blog, I will write about my travel experiences. The German poet Matthias Claudius once said "Wenn jemand eine Reise tut, so kann er was erzählen (If someone goes on a trip, they have things to talk about.)."
I am sure you all have heard about the chaos in airports worldwide. I will tell you the story from the perspective of a person with mobility issues. It is only one story of many, unfortunately. I heard and saw many similar and worse situations at the airport.
I have not talked much about my experience so far because I wanted to give a chance to the airline companies to react to my complaints. I wrote a long review to the two airline companies detailing my abandonment in Toronto. I only received thank-you emails for my review. Both companies regretted the incidents and would thrive to do better the next time, hoping I would travel with them in the future again.
Since I fell over six stairs and a pathway last December after my dog pulled me chasing a squirrel, I have developed a new understanding and admiration for people with disabilities. I have some friends with physical disabilities, had students with disabilities in my art classes and have had the pleasure of instructing clients from several group homes every Friday for the past two years. However, my accident and following mobility issues have put me in a position to see the world from their side.
For the first month after my accident, I was completely dependent on other people: first, the healthcare workers in the hospital, followed by my husband. I could not move my left leg and was in so much pain from the pelvis fractures that I needed help to move out of the bed into a wheelchair. Looking back, I can joke that I had board and lodging for a couple of months. In reality, I needed help with all tasks.
When I finally was able to leave the house with a walker and later with a cane, most people were helpful. However, there was the occasional situation where I was stuck because there was no button to open the door.
During the past six months, I have made significant steps towards a full recovery. My balance and strength have improved. However, I still use a cane or walking sticks because I get tired after a short distance and start swaying. I still need help carrying heavy items. When I booked my flight to Germany, I decided to book mobility assistance to and from the gate because I realized that I would not be able to manage the distances in the airport and carry my suitcase by myself.
On the day of my flight, when I arrived at the Ottawa airport, the service was very efficient. Getting through security was a breeze. We did not have to wait in line, and I was pushed to the gate without any problems.
In Toronto, nobody waited for me. I was finally put into a wheelchair and left in a corner. As I could see that the departure time of my plane to Frankfurt was less than an hour away, I walked back to the counter, where someone called to push me to the correct gate. Nobody appeared. Finally, the person behind the counter also disappeared. I ended up asking a pilot for help. He tried to get help from a new person at the counter. Finally, a young woman appeared and pushed me along a corridor to a deserted corner where I was to be picked up by a cart. At this time, it was only minutes until the departure of my flight. I didn’t see anyone but the occasional traveller and one crew passing. I was sure that my plane had left. Worse, I had no clue where I was and if anyone would finally show up to help me. I called my husband because I felt absolutely abandoned. I was too far from the counter and had no idea how to get help.
After another half hour, the same young woman came again with two of her colleagues, pushing three other ladies with mobility problems. After I told her that nobody had appeared she called again and had the good news that my plane was late by two hours. However, she couldn't reach anyone to pick me up and drive me to the gate. Instead, she pushed both wheelchairs, walking back and forth to get us to the elevator to a higher floor. We were finally picked up by a cart and driven to our gates. I was so relieved when I finally boarded. Despite the mask mandate and a fully booked plane, it was a good flight. I had a great seat at the window, and the crew was pleasant.
After landing in Frankfurt, a cart awaited me and a couple of others immediately. They were better organized and had a list with our names. We were driven through passport control and would have been out first if our suitcases had arrived. Unfortunately, nobody from Ottawa received their suitcases.
To write about the details of my return trip would take another couple of pages. Here is the short version of the worst part. Due to a delayed start in Frankfurt, I missed my connecting plane in Toronto. My new flight to Ottawa was at 11 PM - three hours after my original flight. When I informed my husband, he told me he could already see online that the plane would depart late. Soon, the departure time changed to 0:45. I was extremely tired due to the time difference of six hours. Shortly before 11 PM, we were finally informed about the flight cancellation. Half an hour later, an employee told us to pick up our suitcases. We would receive new flight details by email, which I never received. The plane had not arrived due to bad weather at the departure airport. Therefore, we would not receive compensation for food, hotel or taxi.
The lady from the ground crew was nice enough to push me to the baggage area. She told me that it was not her task to make the announcement, but when she wanted to leave work, she realized that we had not received any updates and everyone else was already gone.
She left me in the baggage claim area sitting in a wheelchair and said someone would come to help me, but nobody came. The two women behind a desk were chatting but no help at all. I managed to ask a young man to lift my suitcase from the carousel.
At that point, my husband was ready to drive up all the way from Ottawa. However, for the night, he had reached his brother, who picked me up shortly before 1 AM.
The next day, the chaos continued when I was first not informed about the connection that would take me to Ottawa. Then, gates were changed several times so that I missed another flight when the mobility aid I had booked was nowhere to assist me. I was left forgotten several times in dark corners. And I was not the only one.
When I finally reached customer service in a completely different area of the airport, I was booked on the evening flight to Ottawa, with the remark I should make sure not to miss the plane again. If I had waited for booked mobility service, I probably would have missed another flight. Instead, I grabbed my carry-on suitcase and my cane and walked to the area where only one employee covered three counters for different flights. He promised he would get us on the planes if they arrived. He did, and I landed in Ottawa 24 hours after my expected arrival.
In the upcoming weeks, I will tell you more about the fantastic moments of my trip. I have seen so much beauty that will be an inspiration for future artworks.
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