June 25 25 months post stroke.

I’ve just returned from a great little European roadtrip visiting theme parks with 2 good friends.

I’ve always been a theme park, rollercoaster and ride fan; in fact it’s how I ended up with my two closet friends. Our shared interest which spilled into a social life and long standing friendship.

Both the others have travelled to a lot of parks outside of the uk; often regaling stories of places they have been. Many years ago we had planned a small European road trip together so I could see a couple of these parks and spend some time together, we never quite got round to it.

After my stroke in 2023 I thought that hobby was closed off to me, would I ever walk enough to cover the terrain of theme parks, could I physically get into ride cars etc and maintain a safe position that wouldn’t upset safety conscious ride staff. Late 2023 the 3 of us did an annual trip to a uk park, using a wheelchair, but it worked. We agreed beyond that experience; once I was walking better we’d do the road trip.

Ian, possibly the most sensible of the 3 of us planned the trip.

We’d leave on a Thursday, get an overnight ferry to the Netherlands, have a day at Efteling theme park, drive on to Germany and Phantasialand where we would stay in one of their hotels for 3 nights. Which would give us 2 full days to explore their park. After our last night, we would make a return to the ferry hitting one last park in the Netherlands on the way there.

Arrive back in the Uk Tuesday morning and back home lunchtime.

It would be my first trip “solo” (I.e without Rich who was going away simultaneously to visit his mother) I’d have to navigate environments I don’t know, be mostly self sufficient. I could, of course, ask my willing friends for help but I resent feeling like a burden, on the run up I would message and say ‘it it’s a buffet you’ll have to help me carry things’ to positive responses and ‘stop worrying’

As planned I got collected on Thursday afternoon, after my hydrotherapy. I trundled out the door with an easy open back pack for day to day use. A small suitcase which i had almost packed myself.

We drove to the ferry, I’ve only ever done cruises, never a ferry, and had a mental image of a rusty ship combined with an aged bingo hall interior, I was thankfully wrong.

Friday morning we docked on the Netherlands and headed to a park that had been mentally on my radar for years: Efteling. I knew it was large, had a couple of well regarded coasters and some infamous dark rides. We entered, my panic about capability sat in the forefront of my thoughts.

After a handful of rides with zero issue, not always needing the disabled access queues either. I decided to try a rollercoaster called Baron 1898 a vertical drop coaster with some inversions (upside down bits). I got to the station, sat in an allocated seat, closed the restraint and found a way to clasp my affected hand with my good. Convinced I was going to be asked to get off.

The ride does a great pre show, steep hill, pauses above the drop then releases into a hole . As it shot out of the other side I was aware that I was laughing, not my limited and quiet usual, post stroke, laugh but a gutteral, noisy gufaw. The mix of adrenaline and joy from the ride, the release from stress about getting on the ride and pre trip concerns all hit in one moment. I felt my mouth wobble at the edges and a tear start to build “you can’t cry on a ride Ben” I scolded myself. For the first time using an emotional management technique on a good emotion.

Feeling confident and empowered we spent the rest of the day going on every ride without thought. The park was huge, bythe end of our day I had walked 6 miles.

After a water display show to finish the day we left the park plowing onto our next park, country and our hotel. Feeling a little guilty that one friend was stuck with all the driving as I can only drive my adapted car, we soon passed into the German border, eventually landing at Phantasialand and our hotel base. An African themed hotel to match an area within the park.

The hotel was beautiful, it looked authentic. After checking in, I let our friends unpack while I had a quiet, reflective, drink in the bar.

The next morning it became apparent one of my friends had been ill overnight and certainly wouldn’t want to have breakfast or do rides.

The remaining 2 of us went for breakfast then into the park, we early on ticked off an indoor coaster where the staff member noted me getting in slowly and rather than challenge me just let us go then met me at the offload with the kind offer of a hand.

I wish I could say it all went that smoothly. After a morning of no issues, after lunch I hit my first snag. After waiting for a ride, boarding and positioning as I had done for the past day and a half a staff member noted my awkward hand positioning and asked if I was able to demonstrate I could open and close my hand, annoyingly I cannot and told the person; deciding I was better being honest. at this point I was asked to leave, I was obviously upset feeling embarrassed and frustrated but I completely understood the staff members perspective. I took myself for a little walk to regulate myself, it might have included a beer in a quiet spot to wait for my friends. We did a couple of othe rides with no issues on our way back to the hotel.

That evening the 2 of us who weren’t ill had a great dinner in the hotel with an unusual meat grill, where I ate buffalo and kangaroo. After dinner, Once again joined by our 3rd, we went for a walk to the bar in the adjacent hotel which was lovely and offered great rooftop views of a thunderstorm which had rolled in.

The following day we all went back to the park again, my confidence a little shaken and electing not to try the bigger rides. We did try some we’d missed the previous day including an outstanding river rapids ride.

After another busy day we had our last night in the hotel preparing to return home the next day, pit-stropping at another theme park en route, which again turned out well and with no issues.

We returned to the ferry that afternoon for another crossing home.

Arriving back at my house the following morning, absolutely exhausted. I had a couple of days to rest and reflect on the experience: how much I had managed to do, the independence I’d demonstrated and the joy it had all brought. Let’s see where my next adventures take me. I’d had some small, fleeting frustrations which were mainly observations of “oh I can’t do that” but was able to process them in a healthy way

Huge thanks to I&J for taking me away, helping when I needed it and the laughter

We were up and down and barely made it over.

But id go back and ride that rollercoaster.

It was fun when we were young and now we’re older

Those days that are the worst, they seem to glow now.

🎶Rollercoaster ~ jonas brothers, 2019