Written by Debbie Kelley, for The Gazette, September 4, 2023, reference by WheelchairTravel.org
Ginger Gustafson has a birds’ eye view of Colorado Springs during the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off. Gustafson became the first wheelchair-bound person to take flight in Colorado Springs in the specialized balloon designed for people with disabilities on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. Pilot Mike “Heff” Heffron, pilot of the Coddiwomple, has the only balloon like it in the United States. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
One of the views that Ginger Gustafson had from the Coddiwomple balloon on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023, during the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Ginger Gustafson has a big hug for her brother, Rick Gustafson after he arranged for her to fly in her wheelchair in the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Rick Gustafson holds the wheelchair of his sister, Ginger Gustafson, in a position where she can see the hot air balloon being filled before the pair embark on a ride at Monday’s Labor Day Liftoff at Colorado Springs’ Memorial Park. Gustafson became the first festival-goer to ride in the balloon that’s specially designed for wheelchair-bound riders. (Photo courtesy of Rob Kelley)
Colorado Springs resident Ginger Gustafson realized a dream she’s had ever since she can remember and got to cross something off her “bucket list” Monday, when her brother, Rick, surprised her with a hot air balloon ride at the 47th annual Labor Day Lift Off.
She thought she was just going to join the crowd in watching 73 giant, colorful balloons float away at sunrise in Memorial Park.
Instead, 61-year-old Gustafson found her wheelchair, a lifelong companion, being strapped into place inside the basket of the nation’s only wheelchair-accessible hot air balloon, for what she described afterward as the trip of her lifetime.
“It was out of this world,” she said, when the red, orange and yellow balloon landed at The Citadel Mall, about 3 miles from where it ascended in a blast of giddiness before an estimated crowd of 25,000 onlookers.
“Going up over the sky and seeing the mountains and the whole city — it was wonderful,” Gustafson said.
Gustafson’s ride marked another accomplishment, as she became the first wheelchair-bound person to take flight in Colorado Springs in the specialized balloon designed for people with disabilities.
Mike “Heff” Heffron and his wife, Katie, bought the balloon for that reason, Heffron said before launching it with Gustafson and her brother settled in.
“We want to share this experience with people who can’t normally go, whether they are in a wheelchair or have some other handicap, from small children to seniors,” he said.
Through their Albuquerque, N.M.-based business named Coddiwomple — an old English word that means “to fly in a purposeful manner to an unknown destination” — the Heffrons for the past three years have been taking people with disabilities into the blue yonder.
Many veterans want on board, said Linda Thompson, Heffron’s mom who also assists with the ballooning. “One lady came from San Diego to Albuquerque to celebrate her 100th birthday and go up in her wheelchair.”
But it’s the first time the company has brought the Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant balloon to the three-day Colorado Springs festival.
No disabled riders were scheduled for Saturday, and the balloons were grounded on Sunday due to high winds, so a rider who had signed up didn’t get to go up, said Melinda Martin, a crew member for Heffron.
Monday dawned clear and calm.
Gustafson threw her hands in the air and waved them excitedly before embarking on the journey, which cost $550 per rider, with a two-person minimum.
A wheelchair ramp enables the rider a smooth transition from the ground to the basket, and straps for the chair that lock all four wheels in place and a three-point body harness keep the person safe and secure, Martin explained.
Plexiglass on one side of the wheelchair-accessible portion of the dual basket provides the seated rider with a bird’s-eye view paralleling that of standing passengers.
“It makes my heart happy that people with disabilities can get into it and see the glorious flight,” Martin said. “When you get up there, it’s a totally different feeling to look at God’s creation. You’re literally in awe.”
Last year, Gustafson, who has been in a wheelchair her whole life due to incurable palsy, went on a boat excursion for the first time.
Next up on her bucket list before she exits the earth at stage left: skiing.
But when that might happen will also be a surprise, said Rick Gustafson.