Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Olson.
Hi Ashley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was paralyzed in a car accident when I was fourteen. I was on my way to getting a basketball scholarship to Stanford, which I worked for since like the 2nd grade. I died twice from the accident and doctors told my mother I wasn’t going to make it. My father was killed in the accident, my mother’s legs were crushed under the dashboard, my little sister had broken bones, and my older sister wasn’t in the car.
The car was on the board of Utah and Nevada when a monsoon hit and our car hydroplaned after a sheet of water came across the road and we rolled into a ravine. I also had a punctured lung, and the other collapsed so woke up with a breathing tube, along with broken ribs. I was thrown out of the car and found hundreds of feet away. I graduated high school on time with a 3.95 GPA. The school was never easy for me but I worked extra hard because I still wanted to go to college.
I ended up getting a full scholarship to the University of Southern California where I graduated with honors. After I graduated I went to work and at night, I was learning how to code my first website, wheelchairtraveling.com, which officially launched in 2006. wheelchairtraveling.com includes tips, reviews, and articles about wheelchair traveling around the world, including tours, where to stay, equipment, and transportation, especially flying on an airplane.
I created it so others with wheelchairs (or other mobile equipment) could plan and prepare for a trip. Including photos and videos was a top priority from the start. At the time I started wheelchairtraveling.com, little to no information was provided online. Furthermore, even at businesses or visitor centers, information was nonexistent.
Still, despite the success of the site, my ultimate goal is to not need sites like mine.
I want businesses, organizations, etc. to provide information onsite and online so anyone can plan and prepare for a visit and/or use a service. How did I get here? A lot of work, including a lot of work I wasn’t paid for. I took risks, including a ton that were physical. I put myself out there; pushed myself to speak in public; pushed myself to speak up in general, even when tired or hungry, etc. What I was standing up for was worth it.
Basic human needs were often not being provided to people who use wheelchairs, let alone aspects that allow us to contribute, participate, and thrive in the community. Changes often wouldn’t need elaborate modifications and costs, and often decision-makers were not even aware of the issues. In the past several years, I have seen a huge positive shift in society to make more possible. Since the start of wheelchairtraveling.com in 2006, documenting trails and outdoor explorations have always been a passion and priority.
My father was a ranger, so my sisters and I grew up camping and hiking a ton. I still have vivid memories of being a child and seeing the wonder in nature–a love that still resides. After years of documenting what I was able to explore in nature, and seeing a plethora of possibilities, I decided to organize these findings in the Access 2 Parks Project, which features areas like camping, picnic tables, fishing, trails, and basic amenities. This is currently available on the site.
In 2020, after surviving a car accident in New Zeland, where I blacked out and flipped into a ravine in a rural area and then crawled out of it unharmed, I decided to write a book about recovering from a life-or-death medical operation ten years prior, when I was twenty-six. It’s called “Confined to Align” (available on Amazon in print and audible) and is about my year and a half of recovery from a hospital bed. It’s extremely uplifting and easy to read, and I guarantee it will connect you with more gratitude for your everyday life. It doesn’t matter who you are.
You don’t have to be paralyzed or go through my experience to relate to what I say in this book. These are universal truths poured through my journey. When the COVID pandemic hit and everyone was frustrated and scared by the restrictions, many felt “locked down,” so I wanted to remind people of the gifts from these restrictions. There’s always a silver lining, and once you see it, the law of attraction makes it grow.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
100% not smooth. Website building is far more advanced than it was in 2006. Plus, I didn’t go to school for coding, so I have spent a TON of time figuring things out, especially at the start. It’s better now of course, but there’s always something to do, and the website could always be better. Just the other day my Instagram got hacked, which was an unpleasant mess.
The work is never over. Funding is always a concern, so getting a big sponsor would be so incredibly helpful. Having sole rights over my digital information has vastly changed since I started; copyright infringement is a problem I’ve dealt with for years. It was likely the period and my young age, but for many years, people didn’t take me and my mission seriously.
For example, I’d kindly and calmly point out a barrier along with possible solutions and would be brushed off, ignored, or even scolded. Sometimes I was made to feel that it was my fault I was paralyzed and used a wheelchair. I could wheel for miles and miles, jump out of an airplane, fly a glider plane, and drive across the country, but not be able to close the bathroom door because my tiny, manual wheelchair is 1/4 inch too wide. Some things just didn’t make sense.
Other obvious challenges would be a lack of wheelchair access and/or access discrimination. Some places are more accessible than others, yet overall, too many basic facilities and services don’t have and/or understand access. People think that access just means money and that’s not true. If the main entrance isn’t accessible but a side or employee door is then kindly make this known. Have a portable ramp to overcome steps and preserve a historic building. Can’t buy a ramp? Get creative and make one.
I rather see effort than being told nothing can be done. You may not be able to solve every problem for every person needing accessibility, but think about what can be done now. A hospital-style wheelchair is commonly found; I often see these stored behind desks, staircases, etc. Management could (and should) use these wheelchairs to simulate what access may be like, i.e. what do wheelchair users experience?
Have management start from the parking lot and know what the pathway and ramp are like, along with opening doors, visiting the front desk, drinking from water fountains, and reaching bathroom hooks, soap dispensers, and dryers. These are some of the basics, but what about the experience at the property? There’s more to consider here too.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am known for wheelchair-traveling tips. I am proud that I have contributed to the education/awareness and implementation of accessibility. I am proud that I have encouraged others to do the same as we need different people from all over to contribute to making the world more accessible for everyone.
What sets me apart from others? We’re all connected and in this together. There have always been advocates. I am doing what I can do in this space and time. Technically speaking, I’ve always included the voices of others wheelchair travelers as we have different interests, let alone locations. I’m also into doing videos. I love getting creative with a camera.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
Experiencing life. It is all about the experience. Life is experience and experience is life. Why we are alive is to gain life experience. To be open and aware of something new, the details, patterns, and coincidences. When it feels right in your heart/gut. Growth, love, and connection are in every good, bad, and ugly experience. Do not run away from challenging and uncomfortable experiences because the sweet is not as sweet without the bitter.
However, a bitter attitude leads to missed opportunities. One may expect an experience and get another by surprise, even with countless planning. These “random” experiences are gifts; unexpected miracles that allow people to choose who they are and how they see the world. A chance to put personal convictions into practice.
Even when there is nothing to physically choose, choose attitude. Every moment is fleeting, in other words, this too shall pass, which applies to not only the “good times” but the so-called “bad” ones as well. (There’s always some good in the bad and vice-versa.) So just keep going because another experience is already unfolding, so pay attention. “It’s not what you look at it’s what you see,” said Thoreau. Plato, Aristotle, van Gogh, Einstein, Tesla, and more knew it too.
The law of attraction correlates thoughts to the shaping or controlling of reality. Quantum physics scientifically confirms this power of perception. Consciously experiencing all of life is important. We are experiencing unique yet connected journeys. Being curious, open, and grateful to experience life is what matters. Experience is a gift and the power to choose.
Contact Info:
- Website: wheelchairtraveling.com
- Instagram: @wheelchairtraveling
- Facebook: @wheelchairtraveling
- Twitter: @wheelchairtrav
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/wheelchairtraveler08
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/WheelchairTraveling/
Image Credits
wheelchairtraveling.com
