Pat's Perspective -- Flying with Scott

What's it like flying with a person who has a physical disability? Well, I can only speak from my own experience traveling with Scott. The first time we got to Newark airport and unloaded our luggage, there was a man from skycap helping us with our bags. He brought it right to the check-in area, and waited with us. As we approached the counter, we usually get looks from people. Some are looks of curiosity, others are looks of intrigue, the remaining are looks of pity. Scott is oblivious to the strangers staring at him, I guess after being in a wheelchair for almost 15 years, you become
numb to it. I have noticed people looking at us since the first time we were out in public together. The adults usually look and then look away, for fear of being caught staring. The children look in awe, and wonder who is he & why is he sitting and not standing like all the other adults? 

Almost as soon as Scott spots a child looking at him, he begins to entertain by popping wheelies and spinning around in circles with that classic grin of his, guaranteed to bring a smile to all the witnesses. This usually tends to break the tension and Scott is admired for his positive and happy demeanor.

Now it is our turn to check in at the counter. The attendant looks at us and whispers, "Sir, can you walk to your seat? Or will you need an aisle chair?" I think to myself, " how could she ask such a question, of course he can't walk, how could she be so insensitive?" In time, and with successive travels with Scott, I have come to realize that the reason that Scott was asked this question was because there are people who require the use of a wheelchair only for long distances and can actually stand up & sit in their aircraft seat. This seems like common sense to me now, but at the
time, it appeared insensitive. I thought to myself, what if this question was asked of a newly paralyzed person, would they be able to comfortably say, "no I can not walk." To me, that seems like a powerful statement, no matter how obvious it may be.

As we approach the gate, there is an aisle-chair waiting for Scott. This is one of the perks of flying with him, we get seated first, even ahead of women with children. For those of you who always wondered why the handicapped are seated first, read on. What exactly happens is that Scott wheels up to the entrance of the plane, and transfers to an aisle chair (a specially designed chair with wheels that is narrow enough to fit in the aisle of the aircraft). Then he transfers to his assigned seat. Now we wait until everyone else boards the plane. The remainder of the flight is the same experience as the others on the plane, except when it come time to use the facilities. For me, it's easy, I just walk to the lavatory. Scott has to catherize in his seat (if it's a long flight). The way we handle
this situation is that I simply hold up a blanket serving as a temporary wall (for privacy) while he does his business.

Finally, our plane has landed. Remember how we boarded first? Well, we disembark from the plane last (so there you have it, we're even). This isn't too bad of a routine, because everything we did to board the aircraft, we do the opposite to get off the plane. Aisle-chair is brought in, Scott transfers from his seat to the aisle chair, then transfers to his awaiting wheelchair. Off we go to baggage claim in London and immediately have assistance from a skycap with our luggage. Then off to our first destination on our world tour. Scott sees a little girl looking at him. Even at 12:30am at the airport, he smiles, begins to pop wheelies and spin in circles for the little English girl with the red bonnet. Tension is broken once again. It goes to show you a smile really is universal. Wheelies are Scott's specialty.

Dear friends, thank you for taking the time to read my first diary entry. Trust yourself, Believe in yourself, Love yourself. 

Pratiksha

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