Hi there all, I’m a forum lurker… just in the background catching up weekly on posts for years. Thank you for all the reassurance and encouragement everyone gives. I just wanted to share that 3.5 years on from my pons stroke, I’m just back from a successful holiday to Lanzarote.
Our biggest concern was the airport assistance and the wheelchair being safe and arriving at the right airport in one piece (or 3 to be accurate 
). It was a huge deal for both of us as I was desperate to reclaim a bit of travel which was something we did often before the stroke and my partner Andrew had major concerns and worries which were relevant and it would be him that would be most impacted if things went wrong if he had to deal with broken or lost wheelchair, hitting of a replacement chair, how to push suitcases and me in a wheelchair, me falling over, etc…
We booked our holiday through TUI and then called their Special Assistance line. They were totally reassuring and said they could put special requests into the hotel - like a shower seat and non slip mat etc. They also arranged all the airport assistance and provided a ‘welfare taxi’ free of charge to take us to the hotel and back to the airport. It ALL worked out! Phew! The airport assistance worked well from Exeter Airport. I transferred into an airport wheelchair at the gate and my partner collapsed my wheelchair and put it into a special wheelchair travelbag we had bought from Amazon (we also put an AirTag into the bag just in case). My wheelchair was placed into the hold. There was a zig zag walk way set up for wheelchairs to get to the aircraft door (there were narrow wheelchairs for those who needed). After being pushed up the zig-zag ramp by Airport Assistance, I walked with my stick to my aisle seat.
At Lanzarote Airport there was a Ambulift for those needing help. The seats inside were full of people needing assistance, so partners were sent off the usual way. That made me feel a bit vulnerable but all was fine. The Assistance staff spoke English and were very friendly, there was a bit of banter between everyone which helped ease any tension. Andrew and I were reunited quickly. I think that was harder for him as he’s very protective of me, I’m very fortunate.
As for the holiday it was great fun although we saw this very much as an ‘experiment’ to see how it worked and how I managed. Apart from the stroke symptoms, I also have rheumatoid arthritis which hasn’t been good lately so I have been given a course of steroids. I had worried about lots of things including that I wouldn’t be able to get on a sunbed or get up again - but luckily I needn’t have worried. I did struggle getting into my plane seat and up again… but with a bottom push from my partner it helped. Thank goodness for the steroids. I discovered I could manage a one arm doggy paddle… let’s face it, it was always my strongest swimming style 
Playa Blanca has a smooth and easy promenade which Andrew found relatively easy pushing the wheelchair. It does have some gentle inclines.
Before I booked the hotel (Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort) I used Trip Advisor to see what it said about ‘mobility’ etc. There is a function to pop in key words to bring up past reviews that mention those key words. I could read that there were plenty of lifts, that the hotel was friendly to people with mobility challenges, that it also receives and allows mobility scooters to be hired and dropped off in advance of your holiday (I didn’t use this) one review even mentioned a hospital bed with a hoist was hired and put into a room…
We discovered that we could reserve sunbeds for the week because of my challenges. That was great as getting going in the morning takes a lot longer now. The staff put a table between the sunbeds with a disabled symbol and no of beds plus the dates of our holiday. We didn’t have a problem. The buffet was tricky as walking around filling a plate isn’t possible now. So Andrew on some busy days gave me a from memory run down on what there was or took me to see what was there (although in the chair I was a little low). Without realising we had booked just clipping the end of half term, so there were lots of very happy and excited children dashing about in the buffet. It was noisy and overstimulating but that settled down. We also found order from the table restaurants which made it simple and calmer.
The journey back was easy too. We kept wanting to double check the arrangements in advance but in the end we surrendered to the process. These were our first flights in our current situation but the Airport Assistance do this everyday and know what they are doing. The (welfare) taxi driver knew to take us (he took the cases as Andrew pushed the chair) to Special Assistance. They pushed me through security and all the way to the gate. As the time came for us to embark onboard someone from Special Assistance came back for me and pushed me in the chair to the door of the plane.
Returning to Exeter Airport the zig-zag walk way was in place and I was met at the airport door by Special Assistance with a wheelchair. I did have a little wobble getting into the chair, probably because I’d been sitting for hours plus I was rushing not wanting to delay the kind Assistance person (I realise how daft that sounds). They pushed me through to baggage reclaim where Andrew got a trolley and loaded our cases. And that bit was the only bit that was a bit tricky as the lady had to help elsewhere as 3 flights came in around the same time so she disappeared but said she’s be back. Andrew decided not to delay and he pushed me with one arm and the trolley with the other through the small customs area and into the small arrivals hall (it’s a very small regional airport). He took the luggage to the car whilst I waited. Then he came back for me (couldn’t do it the other way as the unattended bags would have been destroyed 
)
So a day after getting home I’m feeling a bit euphoric and brain tired… my walking is a bit off as to be expected - if I have a day out I’m usually extra fatigued the next day.
We are planning a ‘de-brief’ in the next day or so whilst everything is fresh in our minds to chat about what worked, what we’d do differently next time, what we’ve learned etc…
If you’ve been unsure about flying etc from the mobility aspect, I hope my account encourages you to give it a go! TUI definitely helped us all the way, before, at the resort and in Lanzarote Airport, so if Andrew is up for more travel 
we will use them again. 
.