It all started on July 5th, with a train journey to Gatwick airport from Coventry via Reading.  At the airport I met with the rest of our group -- two others who have ataxia and our three carers.  We flew with EasyJet.  I cannot walk at all but this has never been a problem -- in fact I rather enjoy being manhandled into an aisle chair by two beefy foreigners, being pushed a short distance to my seat and being manhandled again out of it.  We flew to Alicante which is a little more than two hours away.

Once we got there we were met by Ronnie and Renate who drove us to our apartment which was nearly an hour away in Finestrat (very near Benidorm).  Ronnie and Renate are like caretakers of the apartment where we stayed and are there to look after its guests.  It was great to know they were there.

Our apartment far exceeded any expectations I had -- 3 bedrooms, a full-sized kitchen and breakfast area, a TV room/seating area and a big conservatory.  This overlooked the pool and beyond it green hills and blue skies.  In two of the bedrooms there were beds that could be raised and lowered electronically (which meant I could change the height of the bed so it was just right to transfer to), there was a fully adapted bathroom with a shower seat, and ramps over every threshold.  It was perfect.  I spent many happy hours sitting under the tree just outside our apartment listening to my iPod and looking at the stunning Spanish scenery -- I was a bit like the cat who got the cream.

There was a second pool which we were free to use throughout our stay.  In this pool there was a ramp, so I could transfer to a shower seat and be pushed right in.  This meant no faffing around with a hoist which was another big bonus.  This pool also overlooked the mountains, so I spent a good few hours in the pool soaking up the sun and enjoying the view.

We also hired a wheelchair accessible vehicle which we drove ourselves.  This gave us total freedom to come and go as we pleased.  I was free to lie in until about 11am so most days it was 12pm by the time I was up, washed and fed!  In my defence, most of the time we did not end up getting to bed until about 2am as we would spend our nights giggling and drinking beer.  Oh it’s such a hard life...

Throughout our holiday we were able to use the van for several supermarket runs on which we stocked up our kitchen with goodies.  Just outside our apartment was a barbecue which we used often so we bought sausages and burgers for that.  We also drove into Benidorm most days to look for entertainment, once managing to unwittingly park in a private disabled parking space and have our vehicle impounded!  This is an example of why it was so great to have Ronnie and Renate there -- they were able to deal with the Spanish speaking authorities, pick us up from town and get our van back the next day.  I’m not sure what we would have done without them.

In the van two of us were able to remain seated in our powerchairs.  We hired two powerchairs between us.  One was free of charge and we were charged €12 a day for the other.  My powerchair was a Jazzy and it was almost identical to the one I have at home so I felt really comfortable in it.  The beauty of Jazzy powerchairs is that they have a leaver with which you can change the angle of the backrest.  So you can lean the backrest right back so it is in a horizontal position for sunbathing or change the angle so that you are leaning forward slightly for eating etc.

I have to mention Matthew’s portable hand rail as it was a real lifesaver to me.  In the bathroom there was only one horizontal rail beside the toilet which would have made transferring very difficult.  Luckily Mathew took his portable handrail which is about a foot in length and can be stuck anywhere on any shiny surface.  We stuck it high up in a vertical position which meant I could jam my feet against the wall and pull up on the rail to pull myself into a near standing position to transfer.  These hand rails are available from http://www.otstores.co.uk/Mobile-Hand-Grips-P235/.

This holiday marked my first experience with a carer by profession.  In the past three years I have been on my first ever holidays without my parents – Cyprus in 2006, Cyprus in 2007 and Spain in 2008.  In this time I have been on a bit of a journey, accepting care and letting go of my independence.  The first time I went to Cyprus I went without help of any sort and it was hard work, so on my second visit to Cyprus I took a friend to help me out a bit.  I guess when I did this I was taking baby steps towards accepting the care that I needed to make a proper holiday possible.  This year I felt happy to admit to myself and to others that I need help with some things.  I allowed myself to relax and go with the flow I guess.

In doing this I was able to enjoy my holiday so much more.  I have always struggled with fatigue, especially when on holiday in hot climates.  I only have so much energy, and the more energy I spend on doing anal every day stuff like dressing, showering and transferring, the less energy I have to enjoy my holiday.  So I've finally resolved to leave the struggling and holding on to independence to my home life and allow myself to be really lazy and self-indulgent on holiday by accepting care so that my week is as relaxing as it should be.

Daniela, my carer, was someone I did not know before going on holiday this year.  I was a little apprehensive about this, but we really got on well together.  There was nothing clinical about the way she helped me -- just one person helping another out and doing it in such a way that neither of us took it too seriously nor felt uncomfortable.  Thank you Daniela – you gave me a holiday, and a pretty great one at that.  It was one of the best holidays I have ever had in fact. I can't tell you how well the six of us got on -- it was something really special.  I am someone who is usually really content in her own company, but I have actually felt a bit lonely since coming back as I am really missing everybody.  We have already made plans for the reunion later this year and hopefully another holiday with the same people next year.

Matt and his ladies

One last thing; there was one person in our group who was responsible for the planning of the whole trip and that was my best friend Matt who has Friedreich's ataxia just like me -- he was the one who made all of this possible.  As they say, friends come and go, apart from the really good friends who you come across maybe once or twice in a lifetime.  I was very fortunate in finding Matt at the young and impressionable age of about 20.  I have a very well defined World Is My Oyster streak and without Matt I know it would not be nearly as well defined -- he has really opened my eyes up to what is possible and he has supported me in helping me realise ways to get out there and enjoy my life.  Matthew I could never thank you enough.

Until next time...

Further info on the apartments where we stayed can be found at http://www.la-sonrisa.com/engwelcome.htm.