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Editor’s note: When we saw that one of our Twitter followers was starting to figure out how best to navigate the PATH system on crutches, we thought it would be a good opportunity to share one person’s experience with the woeful lack of accessibility at many PATH stations. This is Marc Frydman’s wrap-up of his commute on crutches; you can read his first diary here. You can also read our report on a federal lawsuit on the PATH’s lack of accessibility at the Grove Street station here.

I didn’t allow myself to believe this story until the third person shared it with me.

There is apparently an old man who sits down and bounces — one step at a time — down the PATH staircase until he gets to the bottom; or, more often, until people come over to help him out. Of the many conversations I’ve had about the PATH’s lack of accessibility, this is the one that bothers me the most — and I still do not want to believe it.

Whether this story is true or urban legend, to me it doesn’t matter: it is clearly unfair what’s going on.

My overall assessment since returning to work is that commuting with crutches would be very challenging for anyone that tries. Fellow commuters were very caring, offering their help at every turn, giving up seats and consistently making sure I was OK at various points on the stairs. The 25-minute commute was bloated into an hour-plus trip with the crutches, as I had to rest several times each way. The four blocks of crutching on each side of my commute quickly caused fatigue, making the prospect of tackling the stairs once I got to either of the non-accessible PATH stations I use all the more daunting. I’m in fairly good shape and still had a hard time; what about older folks or others who aren’t as physically active? The elderly or disabled shouldn’t be forced to climb three flights of stairs after painfully walking several blocks to their nearest PATH station.

Allow me to give you an idea what it takes to crutch on stairs.

Traveling down stairs may be the most difficult, especially if your injured leg is extended straight in a brace, and you have been instructed not to bear any weight on it.

Hold both crutches in one hand. Are you unable to hold them both at once? Too bad. Hold the hand rail with your right hand and hop down one step at a time with your working leg. You’ll feel an uncomfortable sensation in your back, which you’re pretty sure feels to be damaging. It probably is, but don’t be too hard on yourself, this is not due to your physique — even professional athletes don’t hop down stairs on one leg. It’s not healthy for your back, your working knee, your hip. And don’t forget about the very real possibility of losing your balance and tumbling to the bottom.

Interestingly, going upstairs is a bit easier. Dig both crutches into the step you’re on, lift both legs and entire body, swing forward and land on the next step using your good leg. If you can’t lift your entire body weight, well, you’re in trouble. The key to swinging forward to the next step is to make sure that your upper body is leaning forward. There’s a brief moment in which you’re completely up on the crutches like stilts — a precarious position, to say the least. It would be a bad day if you lost balance while balancing on the crutches and fell backwards down the stairs.

It’s hard to avoid overcompensating on one side of your body when on crutches, and it would be difficult for me to describe the pain it causes. It’s because of this overcompensating that I was forced to avoid public transportation on several days during my time on crutches. It was worth it for me to spend $50 a day to rent cars or take taxis to and from Manhattan, but there are too many people who don’t have this option, and yet all they are trying to do is go to work

I am now without crutches and able to painfully, but successfully, climb stairs — progress has been fairly quick. As I become increasingly mobile over the next few weeks I’ll be able to explore this whole situation more closely — I have some good ideas brewing.

In the meantime, I need to give Jersey City a shout out, and extend a heartfelt thank you to so many people, both friends and strangers, for offering their support. I tend to not rely on others and have turned most of you down, but to have been offered all sorts of food and rides was so comforting, making it feel like a true neighborhood that I feel proud to call home.