Around the
Water Cooler
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Never Say Never
By
David Chapple
This last Christmas season I achieved two firsts. Although both were very exciting, one had to be planned out quite a bit. I had planned on going to Texas sometime during the holiday to visit my girlfriend, Kate, and some of her family and friends, but I could not find anybody to accompany me. Therefore, I had to decide whether to disappoint Kate and just not go or try to fly totally by myself for the first time. As you will read, I made the right decision and I had two first during that very special week.
I have flown numerous times with Mike. Although we have had few problems with my wheelchair being damaged, Mike and I had flying pretty much down to a science. So I wasn’t nervous about flying; however, I was nervous about how I would get on and off the plane and how would I explain how to reassemble my communication device mount and my wheelchair if I didn’t have access to my ECO. Thankfully with the very kind help from the airline staff, complete strangers, and my and Kate’s attendants, it turned out to be a wonderful experience.
My attendant and I did call the airline about a week before just to find out if there was anything special we needed to do before to make things go more smoothly. However, they said just show up, we will figure it out, and my attendant could accompany me to the gate if she brought the proper identification. She went to the gate and made sure my wheelchair was disassembled correctly and that I did get on the plane. The airline staff did suggest somebody meeting me at the gate in Texas. Kate and her attendant did just that.
During the flight, the crew periodically checked up on me, making sure I was sitting okay so I was as comfortable I could be. When we were at a safe altitude, they tried to figure out how I could use my ECO during the flight so I would not be without communication the next three hours. They were having trouble figuring out how to secure my ECO to the seat tray with a bungee cord that I happened to have in my backpack. The people who were sitting around me saw that the crew was having trouble so they pitched in to help. It was an amazing feet in rehabilitation engineering and I was able to communicate with total strangers on a plane.
It was an awesome experience.
Although I did have good reason to be nervous flying alone with a significant disability, the airline staff was very accommodating to my needs. They made sure they knew everything about what I might need during the flight and the best way to transfer me on and off the plane. Okay, now that I made it to Texas safely, there was another first I wanted to achieve. I never proposed to a woman before and the second day I was there I asked Kate to marry me.
She said, “YES!!!” So, it was an all-around successful trip!
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