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Blog > Thoughts > Other's Thoughts > Chloe's Thoughts > My Flying Crutch

My Flying Crutch

Written by Chloe on Saturday, February 28, 2009

In the last three weeks I have had three out of state business trips. Since my assistive device mode at work is a single forearm crutch, that is what I used on the trips. This is small potatoes compared with those of you who fly with a wheelchair, but I take baby steps. These were my first times flying with a crutch.

Trip 1

As I was standing in line to board, an airline employee came over to me and asked me to follow him for preboarding. "Okay’" I said. I had a window seat; an empty aisle seat was next to me and I wondered who might come to sit there.

Soon after, a dark-haired gentleman about my age came to sit next to me. He gave me the kind of smile and look in the eyes that I immediately knew we were going to have a good time together on this flight. I smiled back, with my eyes too. As he was sitting down I caught something out of my peripheral vision; it was a familiar, subtle yet characteristic disposition of the fingers of his left hand. It was paralysis. He had been giving me the smile of one PWD to another.

The sight of the hand instantly transported me back to my friend who dislocated a cervical vertebra while playing rugby almost thirty years ago. I visited him twice a week while he was in the hospital, in a Stryker frame to start off with. In the beginning it had the appearance of complete quadriplegia. Eventually just his right arm was completely paralysed, but he could walk with an AFO and a cane.

My travelling companion’s left arm was completely paralysed. It was immediately clear that he was about to have great difficulty with his seat belt, so I helped him without saying anything. I saw in his eyes that he was relieved it was simply done without need for discussion. He hadn’t needed to ask me for help, and I didn’t need to ask if he needed help. It was just done with no fuss. There’s been plenty of times I’ve been in the passenger seat of a car, with a non-functional left arm, needing such help. It’s interesting how quickly one can connect with a stranger when things go just right.

We started with the standard conversation about where we were travelling to and why; what we did for a living. Then we found some common interests to discuss about linguistics and science. We talked about our families. He asked if I was married. I said yes. I wear a wedding ring. He asked about my husband and I talked about her as if she was a him. I slipped up once and called her a she. Urgh! Why do I have such a craving to be normal that I can’t even admit that I’m in a lesbian relationship?

My travelling companion had some difficulty with the lunch, but eventually managed everything. I figured he knew me well enough by now that he would ask for help if he wanted it. I know it can be annoying to be asked too much.

After a couple of hours of conversation we eventually got around to our disabilities. He was partially hemiplegic from a stroke and was wearing an AFO. I explained why I’m sometimes unable to use my left arm, and the difficulty I then have getting dressed. He told me about the method he had come up with for tying his shoelaces. I told him why I have a crutch too (no, not the BIID explanation). At the end of the flight we both expressed our delight in our conversations and wished each other well.

As I was exiting the plane I was asked if I needed wheelchair assistance. I declined since I didn’t really think I needed it. Then I was trying to figure out what gate my next flight would be departing from and which direction I needed to go. An airport employee pushing a wheelchair came towards me and asked if I needed a ride. I said that my boarding pass didn’t show what gate I was supposed to be departing from, so I wasn’t sure where I was going. She went off to find out and quickly came back. She said I was going to need a ride since it was a mile and a half away. Yay, my first airport wheelchair ride! She asked me if I minded if she ran. I said that was fine but I had made sure to leave plenty of time for the connection. She said that she really liked her job because it gave her plenty of exercise. Running it was. That was a really fun ride. At the gate she said she had to go meet somebody else but I could hang out in the wheelchair if I liked. I liked.

I had plenty of time so I thought I’d try a restroom visit. Wow, those clunky airport chairs are a bit different from my GPV. The one accessible stall was occupied so I waited. The occupant exited without any obvious disability; but who am I to judge? It was extremely difficult to get the wheelchair into the stall and close the door. Very tight fit with some tricky maneuvering, but possible nevertheless. Just as difficult getting out.

I get extremely cranky without my afternoon latte, so I headed to the coffee place and pulled up to the closest table to enjoy it. I noticed my physician colleague, who had flown in from a different state, having a sandwich quite a few tables away. After he finished, he walked right by me on the way back to the gate, so I said "Hey!". Interesting how he hadn’t recognised me in a wheelchair. He hadn’t seen me in one before. He thought I had brought my own, but I explained it was an airport chair.

When I wheeled up after the preboarding announcement I was told that it was against the regulations for me to wheel myself down the jetway, but a passenger could volunteer to push me at my own risk. Huh? I just don’t have the kind of mind to understand such regulations. How is this more difficult than wheeling into the restroom? No shortage of volunteers though.

Our psychiatrist colleague met us at the destination, and we picked up the rental car to go to the hotel. I appreciated that I was given a room close to the elevators, without having to ask.

The presentation next day was my first while using a crutch. I noticed that the nervousness I would usually have was completely absent. Amazing!

As I checked in for the return flight I noticed a stack of pamphlets titled "Air Travel for People with Disabilities". Cool! Gotta know this stuff.

Trip 2

Getting through the TSA security screening for the next trip was as smooth as it had been before, except that the woman checking out my hardware did say something a bit odd. She said "That’s a hefty back brace". I said "Yes it is". It didn’t bother me, but afterwards I was wondering if some people might be sensitive about such remarks. She was a nice person and was just a little bit socially inept at trying to make conversation. It got me thinking about the question Sean had asked me the day before. Why am I scared to fly with my wheelchair? The simple answer is that doing things in a wheelchair for the first time can be a bit intimidating. But this one goes deeper. My first plane trip with a back brace was about two months after my back injury. It was still very painful to have the back brace off for even short periods of time. There was no problem on the trip out, but the TSA guy on the return trip said that I had to take the back brace off to go through security or I wouldn’t be flying. This was after arguing for a while. I took off the back brace and cried all the way through the security screening. Some of my friends with disabilities have had analogous experiences. Although I have flown plenty of times with the back brace (which has a ton of metal in it) without problem since then, I still have a fear of TSA. I wonder when will be the next time that I will be bullied, humiliated, intimidated, and caused pain.

The gate was very far away from security so I accepted the offer of a wheelchair ride. There was an elevator on the way, which we shared with a guy who had leg braces and crutches. He immediately started making conversation with me. I love it how the social barriers are so small with a PWD when I am obviously one too.

The plane itself was also a long way from the gate this time, so I was wheeled to the "Special Needs" section to await boarding. My psychiatrist colleague was on the same flight this time, and he walked right by me several times in the waiting area without recognising me. I was pushed to the plane and got to board first since apparently I was the only person with special needs.

We met our other two colleagues at the destination airport and rented a car. The psychiatrist was very puzzled that he hadn’t seen me board the plane, on the plane, etc. I told him that I had been the first to board. He had been fairly close behind me and saw me board, but hadn’t recognised me because it was the first time for him to see me in a wheelchair. Well, now these three colleagues have seen me in a wheelchair, and know that I have my own wheelchair. The months of crutching at work have paid off. A transition to wheeling at work at this point should not cause too much of a stir. I have eased people gently into that possibility.

I used the electronic check in on the return flight, and was mystified to see a wheelchair symbol come up along with the rest of my information. At no point had I requested wheelchair assistance in advance on these trips. In any case I didn’t use one to get to the gate since it was a short distance at this airport.

On arrival I waited until everyone else had got off, since I didn’t want to hold anyone up. As I was getting my crutch from the overhead storage, a flight attendant told me that the wheelchair was waiting for me. I wasn’t expecting that. The person pushing me called on the walkie talkie to confirm with someone that I had been picked up. Hmm, interesting. Apparently I am now in the system as someone needing a wheelchair. Well; cool!

TRIP 3

I had a tight schedule on arrival at the destination airport, so I wanted to make sure there would be a wheelchair waiting for me. It was a busy flying day so someone was directing people to do the electronic check in rather than the in person check in. I asked her if I could make the wheelchair request for the destination airport electronically. She said "Do you need a wheelchair right now?" I said no. She gave me a blank look and didn’t appear to be about to say anything else. I can get ornery if people in authority don’t answer what I deem to be a simple and clearly stated question. I said "Did you listen to my question?" She then asked me if I was already in the system as needing a wheelchair. I said that I had been last week but I wasn’t sure if that carried over to this flight. She said that if I did the electronic check in, it would say on the boarding pass if the wheelchair request was in the system. I asked her what I should then do if it is not. Another blank look. URGH!!! Eventually she let me talk to a person to check in; no problem requesting the wheelchair.

At the security checkpoint, the TSA woman about to give me the pat down told me that I looked sexy. Okay, great; I love compliments (and I like people feeling my butt too). However, is it really appropriate for a TSA person to tell a passenger that they look sexy, just before feeling their butt? I’m guessing that she felt sorry for me because I had a crutch, and was assuming that I did not feel that I looked sexy on that account. Dunno.

I had three airport wheelchair rides on this day trip. Interesting how quickly this gets to seem completely normal.

These three plane trips went really well; both in terms of using airport wheelchairs, and getting through security screenings with a crutch and back brace. I now feel more confident about the idea of flying with my own wheelchair; eventually.

Tags: Accessible, AFO, Assistive Device, Back Brace, Back Injury, BIID, Crutch, Disability, Hemiplegic, Leg Braces, Pain, Paralysis, Quadriplegia, Special Needs, Stryker Frame, Vertebra, Wheelchair

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