I will be traveling (flying) with my mom who has mild/moderate dementia. She normally uses a walker but can't walk to far. I am renting a wheelchair fir the week which is being dropped off at the hotel in Memphis. What I am most worried about is getting around with uber. Memphis doesn't have uber handicapped accessible so I read up and know to ask for Uber XL. But since I've not handled a wheelchair, getting it in and out of a strangers car worries me.Has anyone traveled in a city where you don't have your own car and can offer tips. It will be a standard push wheelchair. I'm also open and would appreciate any advice of pushing her around as I am sure there are situations I don't even know to ask about. Thank you so much for your help!!
Your profile says she's incontinent, but is she also bowel incontinent? Either way you will need to figure out how to deal with this in a crowded public place where you might not know where the bathrooms are. My Aunt with advanced dementia would start trying to move fast towards the bathroom like a rhino when she needed to have a BM (and she wasn't mobile without assistance).
Or, think about if she is bowel incontinent and needs to be cleaned up away from the hotel.
I also suggest you buy this car door handle so mom has something to grab hold of in the Ubers, and in your car at home. I used this exact one for years with my mother and its a lifesaver. It installs and uninstall in 2 seconds flat.
https://a.co/d/3Yr7n4N
Good luck and I hope you have fun.
Also, use the wheelchair service at the airports. It will save you from stress and fatigue.
One challenge is that you can't always control where an Uber has to drop off, so you may not be near a curb cut and your mom may have to go up a curb or around double-parked cars or some other obstacle. Would a cane be helpful to keep her steady while you unfold and position the wheelchair?
I have found Uber drivers to be patient while a handicap person gets in and out. (Be sure to tip them in the app!)
Read reviews on TripAdvisor for anywhere you'll be going (hotel, restaurant), searching words like handicap, accessible, and wheelchair, so you can be prepared. I see that there are some negative comments about accessibility at Graceland. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go, but that you can anticipate what the situation will require.
I think it's lovely that you're giving your mom this experience, and hope it goes well for both of you! Take pictures, frame them, and put them where your mother can see them and show them to people.
Make sure the wheelchair you're planning on using has a seat belt. This is important when people have dementia because I have seen many an elder with dementia work their way down in a wheelchair with no seatbelt and end up on the floor. If there's no seatbelt get a wheelchair vest. It's a vest you put on the person and it has velco tabs that secure in the back of the wheelchair. This is so the person can't work their way down or get out of the chair.
I was a homecare worker for 25 years. You need to get some experience getting someone around in a wheelchair and familiarizing yourself with the equipment before you have one dropped off at a hotel and you're on your way. Get some practice at home. Buy a travel chair and take your mom out a few times.
And here's a little tip:
Always make sure the wheels are locked when you putting someone in the chait and transferring them out. And, watch your fingers when folding that thing up. I've taken many injuries over the years being careless when folding a wheelchair.
You say that your mother can walk for some distances. This means no Uber has to be W/C accessible, just that you will have a folding portable W/C with you that will fit in the trunk.
As to airport, that is done at ticketing as to special needs and it goes well or well much NOT well dependent on the particular airport you are coming from and to. And dependent for the most part on its size.
Air travel with all the delays and cancellations is nightmare enough for me. I certainly couldn't myself at this point deal with someone other than myself, even fully abled.
I wish you good luck.