Typically, I travel sans tour guide because I prefer to adventure on my own. But this time, I really wanted an excursion to the Great Wall that allowed me to pay attention to Andrew and the sights while someone else took care of the details. Andrew had an unexpected surgery the week prior to traveling and instead of cancelling the trip, with our doctor’s consent, we decided that Andrew could recuperate in China, as well as in the United States. The goals during our four days in Beijing wasn’t too strenuous. If all we got to see was the Great Wall and the Forbidden City we would be happy. Andrew held up well until the Great Meltdown on the Great Wall.
The Chinese Countryside
The morning of our tour, a driver and guide picked us up at our hostel at 7:00 am. Andrew’s wheelchair fit perfectly into the van. The driver was personable and our guide, Dennis, was entertaining, very kind, and patient with Andrew. We learned history and local facts as we drove through the countryside.
I’m a small-town type of girl and was interested in all the little villages that we passed. I would have been just as happy wandering the streets of small-town China and observing daily life. In every village, children were walking the streets hand-in-hand on their way to school, shop owners were opening their store fronts and cleaning the sidewalks and the roads in front of their businesses. Sometimes you’d catch a glimpse of a courtyard behind a stone wall and the family that lived there. Small vendors were setting up wares and produce to sell alongside the roads. And the mountains were breathtaking!
The Mutianyu Great Wall Section
By the time we reached Mutianyu, the morning had faded and it was turning into a beautiful day. The skies were deep blue with no signs of pollution and the temperature was about 75 degrees. Our driver was allowed to drive to the closest handicap parking lot near the cable car. The road to the cable car was steep and uneven. It was challenging and I was grateful to Dennis for helping me push Andrew’s wheelchair.
Boarding the Cable Car
Andrew was probably as excited about the cable car ride as he was visiting the wall. The car was spacious, easy to board with the wheelchair, and it comfortably seated six people. The expansive windows allowed an awesome view of the breathtaking scenery.
Once at the top, the cable car exit opened into a large terrace which was as far as the wheelchair could be used. The terrace offered beautiful views of the wall and the valley, however, accessing the wall by wheelchair was not a possibility due to all the steps and the uneven stone. Dennis and I left Andrew’s chair with our driver while we helped Andrew slowly maneuver the wall.
Difficulties on the Wall
By the time Andrew made it to the first Bell tower, I could tell by his movements that continuing further would not have been a wise choice. Persons with Prader-Willi syndrome have a high pain tolerance, and many have issues regulating body temperature when outside. Andrew was slowing down and was tiring rapidly. He was also overheating, even though the temperature was not excessive.
The next bell tower looked like it might have been about a mile further up the rugged wall. I let Andrew know he wasn’t going any further. He was discouraged that he couldn’t do the activities that he normally would have been able to before his ski accident. As Andrew’s anxiety and frustration mounted, so did his body temperature. By the time I realized the extent of what was happening, Andrew’s nuclear core went into meltdown mode.
The Great Meltdown
During this time, I focused on Andrew while ignoring all the visitors. Most of the time, people in the United States people do their best to move away from meltdown territory but evidently not in China. The local Chinese and many of the visiting foreigners were interested the blond-haired kid and his demise. Soon, Andrew had a group of at least twenty, wide-eyed, gawking Chinese, sprinkled with a few other foreigners trying to get though the crowd. Poor Dennis was doing his best to move people away. I remained calm and focused on Andrew who insisted that all the on-lookers knew that they could, “STOP LOOKING AT HIM AND GO AWAY!” In the back of my mind, I was thinking, “I am so grateful that these people will never see us again.”
Cooling Down the Nuclear Core
The bell tower was about 10 degrees cooler inside than the temperature on the wall. As soon as I could, I ushered Andrew into an out-of-the-way corner with a nice breeze coming through the window. It gave Andrew time to eat while his temperature cooled down. Dennis, with his Chinese beliefs that one can become ill in a cool, damp place, retreated to the sunny wall while Andrew rested and snacked. Even after 12-years, I still find it ironic that as a Prader-Willi parent, I live to ‘not’ feed my child, yet the first thing I do is pack food.
Lessons Learned
Traveling is grueling for the average traveler and it is worse for a special needs kid – especially one recovering so soon after a surgery. In hind-sight, it would have been best if I had explained to Andrew that we would only be doing a small section of the wall and not a long hike. But aside from that, it was my first inkling that I needed to give Andrew more calories to make it through the roughness of the trip. I vowed that I’d be purchasing more nuts, fruits and high proteins.
Instead of our normal routine of breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner, I started giving Andrew more frequent snacks throughout the day. Of course, all this meant adding more calories to his diet, but then again our new daily routine was much more rugged than we were use to. We returned home from our Asian trip more fit and trim than when we left.
Post Meltdown
Many months later, when I knew that Andrew was prepared to look back at how he (and I) could have handled the great meltdown differently we had a long talk. He was still adamant that the gawkers should have moved on just because he told them to. The look on his face was absolutely priceless when I told him that our audience couldn’t speak English and had no idea what he had been yelling about. After a thoughtful moment, his answer was, “Well that was a waste of breath.” <sigh> Yes. I agree. It most definitely was a waste of breath.
Looking back, what we remember most about our day at Mutianyu, is not the meltdown but rather the grandeur and the sheer beauty of the Great Wall and the kindness of Dennis, our guide.
*Reminder* This is a safe site for children. If not tastefully stated,
your comment will disappear in a “POOF”!
