Traveling in a Wheelchair
Traveling in a wheelchair is often a stressful and complex process. Society has yet to fully accommodate those who rely on using a wheelchair and flying in an airplane. I have flown on an airplane about four times since my injury 13 years ago. The first time I flew after my injury, I was going to Durango, Colorado, for an adaptive ski program that I got accepted into.
I had mixed feelings. I was both excited and nervous. I have always enjoyed flying, but this was my first time after my injury. I thought to myself, "How is this going to work?" I know how skinny airplane aisles are and had no idea how they would get a paralyzed person onto a plane.
As I am rolling down the terminal in my big powerchair to board the plane, I see this tiny chair waiting for me. If you haven’t traveled in a wheelchair before, the airline has you board first before any of the passengers, and when you land, you have to wait until everyone is off. As I get to the end of the terminal where it connects to the plane, I must stop. This is the farthest I can go in my powerchair. I am told I will have to transfer onto what is called an ‘aisle chair’.
This thing is so tiny and skinny. I am about 6 feet tall and weigh 180 pounds. Looking at the chair, I think there is no way I will fit in this thing! I get help transferring onto the chair, and my knees are up to my chest because my legs are so long. My balance is not very good, so I have someone hold me up while I get strapped in. I get tied in with a harness to hold my upper body and a strap around my knees to hold my legs together. I felt like I was being crammed into a tiny chair that didn’t fit me.
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Immediately, I felt uncomfortable. I had to keep my arms crossed as they lifted me onto the plane to start pushing me down the aisle. The airline then pushes my powerchair to another part of the plane, where it gets loaded with the other cargo.
I say a prayer in my head that nothing bad happens to my chair. I can't tell you how many horror stories I have heard about people getting their wheelchair back after a flight, and it is severely damaged or got put on the wrong plane!
I get to my seat and now must transfer out of the aisle chair, but before I transfer, I have to put my wheelchair cushion onto my seat, so I don’t get a pressure sore during the flight. The seat cushions on the plane are not made for someone with a spinal cord injury to sit on.
Another difficult part about flying is the limited legroom and how straight up the seats are. Airplane seats do not recline, and sitting up straight for multiple hours is hard for me. On one hand, I am grateful to live in a time where I can travel despite my disability, but I also feel like more can be done to accommodate wheelchair users and traveling.
I recently got back from a vacation in Hawaii. Traveling went smoothly for the most part, but it is a lot of work traveling with a wheelchair. I hope in the future, airlines make it easier for wheelchair users to travel. I would travel a lot more if it wasn't such a hassle, and didn't have to worry about something ultimately happening to my chair.