Man with disability want to make burning Man Happen

[djglobal]

hey everyone, my name is Jeff, I'm 27 and have some unique challenges to getting to the playa but I know I can do it with planning and help from the wonderful burner community. The unique challenges that I am talking about include having muscular dystrophy and using a ventilator to breathe and electric wheelchair that gets me around. I live in Fullerton, California and would appreciate any input that could bring me closer to my goal of making burning man a reality. Recently I went to the Los Angeles decompression party and now know that I need to make it to the playa.

My brother and I both share the same disability and reliance upon machines for survival but we want to make burning Man happen. Feel free to ask me any questions or give any input you think might help. Thanks and I look forward to getting to know the burner community.

[jkisha]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

[Drawingablank]

Welcome. I hope you can work out the logistics and make it to the burn.

As you are probably aware, the playa is extremely dusty so I know the breathing part will be tough, but hopefully someone on here will have advice for it.

[lucky420]

Hola and hello...

Read all the survival stuff on burningman.com and the prepping stuff here on eplaya and apply it to your situation. When you have specific questions, ask. Most people here enjoy sharing their expertise...

[lucky420]

Also there is Mobility Camp which may have good advice as far as your chairs go...sorry I don't have contact info but search here or google or someone will probably come along with the info

[theCryptofishist]

The camp's name is more like, Black Rock Department of Mobility, and the eplaya user POWERCHAIR is camp lead. They are in Center Camp and have access to electricity to charge chairs and power cpap machines. They also have mutant vehicles adapted for disabled use.
I would further advise you to, if at all possible, not to bring your best chair. The playa is notoriously hard on electronic equipment, and it is better, I feel, not to risk the chair you most rely on. If you don't have a second chair, you have over ten months in which to acquire one. I don't know how you are getting from Fullerton to the playa, but if you have an adapted van, you can get permission to drive it on the playa.
This is the llc page. Not much, but a start.

[theCryptofishist]

You will run into a tremendous amount of good will out there, but you are still the one who knows your disability best. Be prepared to educate the people who would help you, that's going to be the best way to get what you need.

[Savannah]

Welcome to the board, Jeff!

Getting/staying involved with your local Burner community is a really good idea. Make friends! Join a camp. Ask L.A. folks when the best time is to make a wheelchair accessible RV reservation. (You'll probably have a little more time than if you were trying to make a reservation in Reno or Vegas. Those cities' reservations go the very fastest).

Health-wise: Breaking the news to your physicians as soon as possible is another good idea. Tell them you plan to be in a very hot, dry environment where there are duststorms with very small particles the approximate consistency of baby powder ('cause it's not really sandy at all out there; it's true dust). You'll probably need specific monitors to check yourself out regularly. Travel health insurance is a must. Basic medical treatments on the playa are free, but if you need to be evacuated to Reno, an ambulance or a helicopter will really cost you, as I'm sure you're aware.

And here is some info on disability licenses. You are allowed to tour the playa in a personal vehicle (at 5mph) if you have a disability license.
http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/ ... enses.html

[illy dilly]

Hey Jeff, welcome to eplaya!

Good call on starting your prep work early! Hopefully you're able to find all the information, or least direction where to find the info, around here on eplaya.

There are some folks around the board that have a lot of experience with similar issues to your own, I'm sure they will all be around to say hello shortly, if not already.

[Sail Man]

Welcome Jeff, lots of good sage advice here so don't be afraid to ask, and, don't let the occasional snark deter you from your dream. You do face some challenges, especially the vent aspect, so make sure to plan for redundancy.