Year in Review: Your favourite blog posts of 2019

25 Dec

This past year has been an exciting first year for Able Amsterdam! What started as a little list of Amsterdam’s accessible places on my phone turned into a fully fledged website with 64 location recommendations, 17 blog posts, and — so far — over a thousand visitors per month. I’ve learned so much about Amsterdam, met some amazing people and had some special opportunities to contribute to improved accessibility.

Fun Facts: Able Amsterdam in 2019

Launched in March 2019
7,500 unique visitors to date
64 accessible locations added
17 blog posts

To round off Able Amsterdam’s first year, I’ve come up with a best of 2019 list for one of my favourite sections to write: the blog. Here are the five most-read blog posts of this past year:

5. Reclaiming my identity and sense of purpose after my accident

“…if I’m not the old pre-accident me, then who am I? If I can’t follow the career path I set out for myself, then what can I do? In the process of acceptance — and I’m still very much in that process — I’ve had to re-evaluate a big part of my identity and sense of purpose.“

Surviving a traffic accident was never going to be easy, but nothing prepared me for the subsequent internal struggle I’d face about who I am and what I want to do with my life. I spent about two weeks reflecting and writing this most personal blog post yet. Based on the messages that flooded in, it seemed to strike a chord with a lot of readers who survived something similar. Click here to read the full article.

4. 10 #BabesWithMobilityAids you should be following on Instagram

One of my favourite things about Instagram is its ability to connect people across the worldwide (disability) community. Hashtags like #BabeWithAMobilityAid have been a particular source of support and empowerment as I navigate the world as a twenty-something-year-old-mobility-aid-user. Click here to read about the 10 #BabesWithMobilityAids who motivate me to use my mobility aids loud and proud.

3. Mobility aids in the spotlight: A review of the Rollz Motion

Anyone who has been following Able Amsterdam for some time now knows how much I love my Rollz Motion. Created by the Dutch company Rollz International, this award-winning rollator-and-wheelchair-in-1 has had a profound positive impact on my life. Click here to find out what makes this mobility aid so special.

2. 16 Things I learned from surviving a near-fatal road accident

“It was the end of a fun night out in Phnom Penh and I was ready to head home. ‘Home’ at that point was my friend Jess’s apartment in Tuol Tompoung, where I was staying during my one-month trip to Cambodia. My friend, Aldrin, and I agreed to leave together. I’d hitch a ride on the back of his scooter and he’d drop me off at Jess’s place on the way to his own apartment.”

On May 12th 2017 my life was turned upside down after surviving a hit-and-run in Cambodia. My accident cost me a lot, but also gave me a tremendous amount of insight and perspective. Click here to read about the biggest life lessons I’ve learned along the way.

1. What makes a toilet accessible? Important features of a wheelchair-friendly loo

At #1 we have a blog post all about toilets! It turns out accessibility features of a wheelchair-friendly toilet is a very popular search query across the web. In fact, this particular blog post received more hits than any other Able Amsterdam post this year and more than the blog page itself. Click here to end 2019 with a BANG by reading about the most important features of a wheelchair-friendly loo!

While you’re here, why not browse through some other blog posts?

Josephine Rees

My name is Josephine Rees (1993) and I am Dutch-British. I was raised in Tokyo and Moscow and moved to the Netherlands to study Anthropology & Human Geography in 2012. After briefly living in Thailand and Cambodia, I am now based in Amsterdam and have recently completed my MSc in Social Policy and Public Health.