SPINAL NETWORK NEWS

JAI IN MEXICO
Beginning in Hawaii in September 2008, Jai Donnelly
began an adventure that saw him venture through
Canada, and then down America’s West Coast –
visiting Oregon, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego,
and Las Vegas, – before traveling through Mexico. I was
fortunate to catch up with Jai in February this year while
he was at home in Sydney. He had returned home to visit
family, and to be the Best Man at a friends wedding. This
was the fourth time Jai had been asked to be a Best Man
– people have respect and admiration for the lad, he is
reliable and has a wonderful balance of empathy, humour,
and appreciation for life.
I was interested to find out how Jai’s disability had
influenced his travels. After a snowboarding accident in
Queenstown 2005 which fractured L1, Jai is now paralysed
in the back of his legs, his
right leg and foot being the
worst affected. Following the
accident, Jai spent roughly
the first four weeks using a
wheelchair, with a further six
weeks using crutches. Through
determined rehabilitation, Jai
can now walk independently
with the aid of a foot splint
on his right leg. Jai manages
his bladder using selfadministering
catheters and
requires stimulation for his
bowel routine. Returning to
Australia following his rehab
at Burwood, Jai set about
testing out life with the new
challenges he now had to
face. He travelled back to
New Zealand twice, and even
spent two months exploring
through Argentina.
After three years, Jai was
ready to embark on this
remarkable journey. It was the
product of hard work on Jai’s
behalf – planning, more rehabilitation, and saving (unable
to return to work as a carpenter, Jai worked in building
evaluation). Jai also employed a ‘Kendo’ attitude. This is
Australian for ‘I can do’ it. Behind Jai’s humour is a simple
and determined philosophy.
“I think its an important aspect to my travels...coz I
know, myself, and a lot of paraplegics can have that ‘lazy’
attitude and never want to go out and do anything…...I
made the decisive choice to go out there, not be lazy,
challenge myself (with a kendo approach) and had some
great experiences.”
Jai’s main concerns before leaving on his trip were to do
with aspects of bladder and bowel care. With traveling
through various countries Jai was conscious of picking up
bladder infections due to using so many different toilets.
Another of Jai’s concerns was the possibility of being a
target due to disability. As he is unable to run and has a
visible limp, Jai is aware that in some situations, people
may be inclined to attack or rob him, but during his trip he
found this not to be the case.
‘I was worried people may see me as an easy target, but
people were generally the opposite, they were really
willing to help out…it gives you a lot of confidence in the
humanity of the world!
Traveling with his friend Phil, the pair spent two weeks
on the North Shore of Hawaii which Jai described as a
very relaxed and colourful place, where you can find
drum kits on the side of the road and use it to start a party.
From the tropical wonders of the north Pacific, Jai was
slightly reluctant to fly to Vancouver where he exchanged
lazy days on the beach for scarves and jumpers. This is
when the duo found a very interesting and unique (not to
mention frugal) way to travel. It involved a contemporary
mix of ingenuity, technology, and support. Simply put, Jai
and Phil created an account on
two different websites. The first
was a couch surfing website
that advertised people who
listed their couches as available
to travelers. Jai and Phil could
email people in towns they were
traveling to take up offers of free
couches.
‘Some people may offer a couch,
or just a coffee and advice about
the area. We made some great
friends. We’ve slept on couches,
floors, beds – we had some
really good beds!’
The second was a website
that Jai described as ‘new-age
hitchhiking’. Once again the
pair created an account and
would list their travel plans, the
dates, origins and destinations.
‘We’d post a note like; two 25 year
old Australian males looking for
a ride from A to B can pay for
gas. Then we would get a few
phone calls from American girls
who would give us a ride – it
was great!’
As well as being a great way to meet the locals and save
money, the travel techniques did not present too much
trouble for Jai’s disability needs. Having Phil traveling
with him helped a lot, in the sense of having somebody
there who understood Jai’s condition. For example Phil
could help with things like looking after luggage and
holding the fort if Jai needed to use a toilet while they were
on the road or had just arrived at a new house. Jai and Phil
spent around five weeks traveling down America’s west
coast catching rides with locals, staying on couches, and
on one instance having the privilege of house sitting. A
personal highlight of Jai’s was visiting the Grand Canyon
and walking a 20km return trek.
‘It was really really steep, mules were going up and down
and they were struggling! It was seven k down to the camp
site where we stayed the night, then three k to a lookout.
Coming back up the next morning was the worst, around
half way up my legs were tired and killing me……I had to
ANDREW HALL
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