We took off bright and early on Monday morning with my Mom and Edwin. It was my Mom’s birthday, and boy does she know how to live it up! As we set off on our two hour drive, we quizzed each other on the nervous mental list of what we may have forgotten. It seemed like we had it all. We arrived at SeaTac with plenty of time. Edwin took the van to park and left us with a giant mound of luggage at the curb. To continue in her birthday fun, my Mom began hauling luggage fifty feet or so at a time so I could guard or watch it as we got it all closer to baggage and ticketing. I’d called ahead for every aspect of the air travel, and that included TSA cares. A nice helpful guy, Kevin, with TSA joined us and began assisting in the luggage maneuvering. Edwin rejoined us just as we got to the ticket counter. Although we had made the call about our gigantic Pelican case, Thanks, Todd!, and we knew that we had no limitations on medical equipment, we were surprised to find out that we could not exceed 100 lbs for any one piece of luggage.

As it turns out the Pelican weighed in at a whopping 126 lbs. Alaska Airlines really tried to help and make exceptions, but we think for the safety of their employees, they just couldn’t break this rule. So right there on the scale, with a line growing behind, the birthday girl dove into the case and started pulling out the heavy stuff. The ventilator was the first to go, and that made a big difference. With just a few more deductions, we were pleased to see that we were down to 99.8lbs. I think the people behind us in line were glad as well.

Kevin, our trusty TSA, continued us on through the airport. We got a nice shortcut at security, and Kevin himself did my security check. While he was doing that, Edwin and my Mom were pushing through the gobs of handcarrry luggage that we now had. To continue in the true birthday spirit fun, my Mom triggered an extra security check and received the most thorough pat down that she has ever received. Once we were all reorganized and Kevin had put my shoes back on, he led us to the tram where we had to shuttle to our gate. He bid us a fond farewell and we were left to take a deep breath. I started cruising the gift shops looking for a sports illustrated. Edwin grabbed a snack. My Mom just sat down and waited for the next bit of chaos.

Our flight was delayed about 45 minutes which gave us a false sense of security. We’d talked over our plan, and we had a good one. We knew who would do what. We had walkie talkies to strap on the chair. We had colored tape and an informational sheet with our phone number. We had bungee cords. We even had a measuring tape. 33” is the max height of the opening under a 737, the aircraft we were flying in, and we were determined not to have the chair turned on it’s side. Suddenly, our gate was changed, to the other side of the N terminal. We headed over as quick as we could. Once we got there, things started happening quite quickly. We went from chillin’ to all hands on deck. The accessibility team for SeaTac arrived with the aisle chair just as folks were lining up to board. My Mom and Edwin went as quick as they could to get me strapped in to my flight sling, or as we like to call it, a strait jacket. I was spouting out multiple instructions, our hand carry stuff was spread everywhere, and next thing you know, I was being wheeled off into the plane. Just before I left, I looked the baggage handler in the eye and gave him my steeliest stare. “ You got this man”, I said. “I need this chair on the other end”. The walkie talkie didn’t make it on the chair. No bungee cords were used. No measurement occurred. We did get the informational sheet attached.

Settled in the bulkhead seat on my Roho cushion, we rehashed what had just happened and how things did not go as planned. There was nothing left to do but enjoy the ride and hope for the best. The first 3 1/2 hours of the flight went pretty well. I had a couple beers. My mom, claiming birthday privilege, had a double gin. Edwin had sprite. Eventually, the heat got the better of me. The combination of the sling, the long hair, the do-rag, and an N-95 mask became almost unbearable. The mask was on and off the last hour with a spray bottle spraying my face and an extra fan for cooling. I had a lot of mixed emotions on landing. I was miserable from the flight, hot, stiff, desperate to tilt back and anxious to see if my chair was in one piece. It took 40 minutes to get my chair from under the plane but I was so thrilled to see it in good shape that I could’ve kissed the woman that delivered it. My hero!

The frenzy of reassembly began. Everyone was hopping; the three folks from the DC airport as well as my Mom and Edwin with me shouting out direction. Finally I was rolling towards baggage claim back on six wheels.

Dr. B and Jimmy were waiting for us in baggage claim, and boy were they a sight for sore eyes. The gang was back together! By the time we got to the hotel, unpacked, the stories were told, and a couple beers were consumed, it was well after 2am.

Tuesday was planned for organizing ourselves. As it turns out, Jimmy needed Tuesday to organize Jimmy. The rest of us gathered the packages that we’d shipped to the hotel. We got the rental truck and the rental wheelchair van. We switched out my batteries to the lithium pack. We reorganized all the gear and we got the ice vest inserts in the freezer. It’s hot here in DC! I had just enough time to run out with Dr. B and Jimmy to see a few sights. We had a little fun. Really excited to start tomorrow and can’t wait to see what this new adventure has in store for us.

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