Flying

Tomorrow I will be taking by first plane ride since right before the accident. I'm going to visit my brother, my sister-in-law, and my sister in Minnesota. This is a little more complicated than it used to be.



For one thing I now have a lot of extra gear to take. I'm going to be taking my leg brace and my wheelchair, a guaranteed nightmare through security. I'm guareenteed to be searched, padded, prodded, wanded, groped... I just hope I don't run into the TSA agent with something to prove. The leg brace will no doubt throw them through a loop since even people familiar with leg braces are usually taken aback when they see it. I need both but I'm sure everyone will think it completely bizarre to be wheeling in wearing a giant leg brace.

I've got to wheel in wearing the brace, leave it off at the gate for my plane, and walk onto the plane. For once I get to answer the call "If anyone will need extra time to board" along with the elderly, infants, etc. I try not to let my pride be wounded by being lumped with the infirm; after all my stance isn't really that firm anyway. Once on board I can either just leave it on or stow it but I haven't decided which yet. We'll see how the day goes I suppose.

So barring the unforeseen, I should be in Minnesota tomorrow evening with a leg brace to walk in and a wheelchair to use when I'm not wearing it. Not an insurmountable challenge, just one that will cause me a fair bit of annoyance. And I remember thinking how much of a pain it was to have to remove your shoes when going through security.