The Greatest of Ease…
Hello, blog fans! It’s been a while!
What have I been up to, you ask? Remember that trip to Disney? Well, it happened, and there will be a number of posts to talk about the trip, and how it was to navigate the process.
But you can’t get to that without the flying part. And that was something I was super concerned about, just two weeks after having received my prosthetic, still unable to walk without a walker, and unable to carry anything.
In short, I was at the mercy of the skies. Or at lease those who work at Delta.
And, let me tell you, those who worked at Delta were magnificent. So, here was our travel party; me, with the aforementioned new leg, my nine year-old son, my mother-in-law, who has mobility issues of her own, and my wife, who, as you might remember from such utterances as “my wife has saved my life,” is the strongest and most capable member of the party.
There we were, navigating the Austin airport. Now, I’d never flown with my wheelchair before, and I had a scooter rented at DisneyWorld (more on that in future posts), and I had a walker, and I had a suitcase, and I had a carry on.
I had more gear than almost anyone in the world.
First there was TSA and security. Prepare to be patted down, and to have a separate guard to make sure you’re not smuggling anything in your chair. Or your leg. It’s a little longer, so make sure you leave yourself enough time to get through the airport without having to hurry.
When we got to the gate, they said they’d be able to check the chair and the walker, but I wasn’t going to be able to use either to get to my seat.
On the positive side of things, my wife and I had been upgraded to comfort seats, which means we were a lot closer to the door than originally advertised, but I still had to make my way down the aisle to my seat…unadorned by assistance.
It seemed like a really long walk to use the seat rests to get the 10 rows to my seat. I was a little unstable and sore, but I made it. And it wasn’t too bad. The extra leg room meant that my knee didn’t hurt when I had to extend it, so, for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel the lack of legroom on an economy class seat.
I also had a terrifying revelation.
If I’d had to go to the bathroom during the flight, I would have been screwed.
Luckily for me, that wasn’t an issue. I’d stopped consuming anything an hour before the flight, and I’d taken care of it before getting to the gate. But I was still living in terror for the length of the flight, wondering what would happen if I needed to go.
The flight, however, was awesome. We lucked out, and some dear friends of ours who were going to the same wedding were on the same flight. We were headed to almost the same place. It was glorious.
When we landed, my chair was waiting at the end of the row, so I was on and off without a hitch. I’d flown for the first time since all of this happened, and I felt SO good that it went off without a hitch.
So, friends who need it, let me tell you a few things about flying while disabled:
Let the airline know your needs ahead of time. They will mark your ticket and take notes, and will actually have them when you get to the airport Who knew, right?
Don’t be timid about telling them your needs in detail. The more you tell them, the easier it will be for them to accommodate you.
Don’t be a hero. You have a whole trip ahead of you. If there’s something you can’t do, then don’t do it. This is not me telling you that I think you should give up. Far from it. You just need to be honest with yourself and realize your limitations.
If you have the ability to ask for an upgrade, do it. I don’t necessarily mean paying for it, but you can put yourself on the standby list, and you might get lucky.
Assume positive intent. All of the people who are working at the airport have to deal with some of the most demanding and impatient people there are on a regular basis.
As I said before, give yourself some extra time. Yes, it’s no fun to be at the gate for long periods of time, but it’s so much better than having to hurry in a situation that’s already fraught with tension. Also, when they do the “if anyone needs some extra time boarding” bit, take advantage of it. It’s for you.
Relax to whatever extent you can. Even if you’re not going on vacation, you’re going on a plane. You’re trapped in that metal tube. Lots of what happens to you depends on your attitude toward it.
You can do absolutely anything you put your mind to. There’s always a way to solve a problem. Take a breath and think for a moment.
Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. Walking 10 rows might not seem like a big deal, but it was to me. It felt like a pretty major accomplishment to get off that plane without having it been a catastrophe. Enjoy the win.
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The way home was perilous. The bus we’d gotten to take us from our hotel to the airport broke down on the side of the road, and we had to be moved to another bus. This meant that I had to be lifted in my chair down to the freeway and over to another bus.
We were kind of late as a result, and that made it a little more perilous.
But let me say this.
The Delta employees at the Orlando airport were exceptional. From the front of the building, where Coleman the skycap wrangled five bags and some very hysterial family members, to Natalya, who pushed my mother-in-law in a wheelchair across a very large airport, to Heather, who met me and my wife halfway and cleared a path for us to board the plane, to Mikayla on the flight, who was so nice, and who got my son a bag of treats for his birthday, signed by all the personnel on the flight…they were awesome.
We didn’t have comfort seats on the way home, but it was a good flight, nonetheless.
And I didn’t have to pee on that flight, either.
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As always, if you have it in you, please give a thought to donating time or money to Hospice Austin. They do amazing work for people who are going through the hardest thing a person can face.
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