Daisy Brookes/Ekko Cosplay

Something that I think a lot of people don’t realise is all the extra steps that go in to planning for an event or comic-con, before you even leave to get there. Sure everyone has to pack and prepare for a convention or holiday, but so many people are blind to the things that have to be organised for disabled people.

The preparations for going away start well before packing. As you may have seen me write before, you’ve got to find out if the event has an access or extra help, that’s usually step one. Step two for me personally is researching the venue. I need to know if there’s parking, how close it is, how much it is and how many disabled bays there are. Then I research two back up car parks, just in case one is full or closed, these things aren’t totally reliable. Usually my order of preference goes; distance, price, capacity. The closer to the venue the better. A lot of people I know need to be able to get back to their cars during events, be that for medication, supplies or even just for a quiet break for the brain. Sure sometimes I'm swayed by a disabled discount but only if it isn’t too far of a trek.

Next up I take a look at the venue itself. Now I know how I’m gonna get there, I wanna know how best to manoeuvre the venue. If it’s somewhere I know well like the Excel I don’t have to do this any more but a new venue needs research. I like to know in advance where the easiest entrance and exits are as well as the easiest accessible toilets. If possible it’s also nice to know if there’s a quieter area to sit and wind down, like the seats upstairs in the NEC which are accessible by a lift and perfect to de-stress and rest when you’re feeling run down and overwhelmed.

Even with a blue badge people question you

Something else I like to research in advance is the greater area around a convention or event, especially if it’s somewhere new. I like to keep a note in my phone of a few of the closest local amnesties. Some might say this is a little over the top but in an emergency you never know what you might need. On my phone I try to keep numbers and addresses for the closest A&E, out of hours GP and 24 hour pharmacy. These really are for just in case and although I’ve never had to use them, it’s reassuring to have them, especially when going to conventions abroad or far away from home.

Once I feel like I’ve got the area on lock I start to think about packing. This usually starts a little over a week in advance when I make sure I’ll have enough meds and stoma supplies to last me through the weekend away. If not it’s a call to AmCare or a trip in to pharmacy to make sure that I can have everything ordered in and on time. You’d think by now I’d have a routine with ordering meds and supplies but you’d be surprised by how easily these things slip your mind.. especially when you dispense 4 weeks of pills at once so you can put them in the cabinet and forget about them. It’s also a big thing to remember to pack the “non-essential” meds. I dispense most of my lupus and crohns drugs but it’s really easy to forget to pack the other ones you have in your bedside cabinet that you might forget you need. I always try to pack a couple of strips of pain killers, antihistamines and anti nausea tablets, just in case. As for stoma supplies, unless your lucky and have a regular stoma, there’s no way to properly keep track of how many you use or have so really it’s a mad, stressful guessing game.

Now I personally like to pack as light as possible because I don’t have the strength or energy to lug a big suitcase about. I’ve got if down to a fine art of one duffel bag and one carrier bag for a weekend away and that works for me. You’d be surprised how little space my costumes and clothes actually take up. This past MCM half my duffel was actually just stoma supplies and meds. This is mostly because I think it’s better to be safe than sorry. When packing for a 3 day weekend, I like to take 6 days of tablets. This is in case on my planned day for travelling home I get sick or I’m too tired to get home, I’m covered. It also covers me for spillages, loses and pretty much anything else than can, and often will, go wrong.

The other bag filler for me is stoma supplies. Oh do I miss the days when I didn’t have to lug about a giant supply bag full of pouches, sprays, creams and powders. It’s insane, for one stoma pouch change in need a whopping 13 different supplies. Being away also hits that paranoia spot in my brain so you can be dammed that I’ll be packing every type of safe tape and gel to make sure that any and all leaks can be fixed quickly and easily. So on a 3 day excursion, that means I need a lot of stuff.

Depending on how I’m feeling, how bad my health has been and all that I’ll often travel with my crutches and my wheelchair in the back of my car so it’s easy to grab if I’m really struggling. I still fight a lot with myself in my head about letting myself use my crutches in public. It’s definitely something I’m getting better at but it’s a stigma I've solidified so strongly in my mind, it’s hard to get over it. But I’m quite proud to say I ventured the Sunday of MCM with my crutch to help me. And I still hope that one day, a few operations down the line I’ll be able to walk about aid and pain free. But for now I’ll stick with letting myself use the crutches and chair when I need them.

Once this is all sorted I’m pretty much ready to pack everything else up and go off to a con. I don’t tend to go to events without someone trusty there to rely on who can help me out in a tough situation so I at least always feel safe and looked after. I want to be able to enjoy a convention just like everyone else, and taking all these extra steps in planning makes me feel safer and less anxious but it’s something that I think a lot of people don’t realise so many of us do. It really is an insane amount to have to organise and prepare, and on top of con crunching it feels easy to forget bits and bobs. And although I can list off and prepare in every aspect medically, you can almost always guarantee that I’ll still manage to forget something cosplay related.

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