Beach Chair

Summer has finally arrived and school is out – time to hit the beach!  I have always enjoyed the beach. I don't care what kind of water – I like sitting at the edge in a comfy beach chair. 

For several years after my daughter had a stem-cell transplant, she had to stay out of the sun – too much sun could trigger a very dangerous rash. So during that time, we stayed in our shady backyard, and the kids played in the blow-up pool. Before last summer, the doctors said Jessie could safely venture back to the beach. I looked forward to taking the kids to the town beach. 

On our first trip last year, I realized something that should have been obvious – wheelchairs are not good in the sand! It could have been a big disappointment, but thank goodness our Town Beach owns a special beach wheelchair. I don't really know the full story on how our town came to own one of these amazing contraptions, but I do know that our daughter is not the first resident to use it on a regular basis. For a family of a disabled child that wants to visit the beach, they are a God-send.

So, last week when I saw an article in Sudbury Patch about a local charity that is raising money to supply 100 Cape Cod beaches with these precious wheelchairs, I thought it was a great idea.  As much as I would love to own our very own beach wheelchair, providing beaches with their own makes a lot more sense. These chairs are very large and cumbersome, and I have no idea how I would transport one without its own dedicated trailer. Arriving at a beach to find it equipped with a special beach wheelchair would make an otherwise impossible trip to the beach a pleasure.

in the Sudbury Patch.

See you at the beach!