Hello and welcome back to another week! If you are new here, I hope you learn something new or feel a sense of camaraderie in this space. That’s what it’s all about!
Last week I found myself riding around the streets of Washington, D.C. and speaking in different lawmaker’s offices regarding airline accessibility. It felt surreal to be sitting in their offices using my voice for change. It was definitely a pinch me moment! I was so honored to be there among many other amazing, seasoned advocates. We were all there to raise our voices for one thing. Change in airline accessibility. I learned so much on this trip. I had done one other Hill Day, but it was virtual. While I enjoyed that experience, there is nothing like being in person talking to another human face to face about this ultra urgent matter. People with disabilities need major change in the airline industry. As it stands, the accommodations for those with disabilities are pathetic. People are often injured, wheelchairs and assistive devices are frequently damaged or returned in nonworking order, and all with very little accountability for the airlines, as things currently stand.
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| Thankful to have my husband by my side |
Before I go any further I want to rewind this story a bit. I knew when I was planning to go that I would finally get to meet MDA’s other National Ambassador and her family. We had spoken several times online and even did a video chat, so I already knew I was fond of them. What I wasn’t prepared for was the love we would all have for each other. Seriously, it was just a life changing moment for us connecting like that. In case you missed it, you can read all about Leah in an interview I did with her a couple of months ago. She’s just a fantastic human and her parents are too.
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| MDA’s Current National Ambassadors aka Dynamic Duo! |
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| Leah’s Dad Also Lives with MD, he’s awesome! |
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| Leah’s Mom 💚💚💚 |
Along with that glorious meeting, I was surprised to see some others I had admired from afar for a long time! Getting to meet them in person was incredibly moving for me. They are just rockstar humans, and being in their presence was so amazing! It’s like all my dreams were coming true in this one room, as we met for dinner the night before the big day on the hill.
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| Starstruck meeting this incredible lady! |
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| National Ambassadors and Former National Ambassador! |
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| Kindred Spirits |
We ended the evening sitting around and just talking about what we were there fighting. Stories were told about horrific experiences had when traveling by air. If you aren’t aware, wheelchairs have to be left at the gate and stowed below. So, for those who aren’t able to walk, that means a transfer into an aisle wheelchair, being transferred by people who aren’t familiar with specific needs of the individual being transferred. Many injuries happen during these transfers in and out of aisle wheelchairs. Individuals are forced to get out of their wheelchairs, which are often custom fit to their bodies and incredibly expensive. They are forced to sit in the airplane seats, and often have to bring lots of things to help prop them up and/or extra straps to help them sit. Once on the plane they have no way of accessing a restroom. Often, after arriving at their destination, they find their custom chair has been damaged because it’s been stowed below, amidst all of the luggage and not protected in the cargo area. Many times, their chairs are not usable upon return. So, essentially their legs are taken from them. It’s absolutely horrific and quite frankly, inhumane. And it happens all of the time. There is certainly no shortage of personal stories to illustrate this well past due need for a major overhaul in accessible airline travel. For me, I drive my scooter to the entrance of the plane and from there I am able to use my cane to get to my seat. Once in my seat, I am not able to stand up without assistance because the seat is low and there isn’t enough room to lean forward to stand, which is what I need to be able to stand. Walking to the bathroom is difficult because it’s very unsteady, and I lose my balance very easily. Once in the restroom it’s hard to stand up. I try to avoid using it if I can. In the past, I have had to use an aisle wheelchair after flying following medical procedures. It’s tiny and uncomfortable to say the least. It’s also humiliating to be honest.
Their was no shortage of passion for the fight in our group of advocates on this trip. It’s hard to describe that feeling of coming together like that, and humbly courageously going into different lawmaker’s offices, and telling our personal stories. It’s a little intimidating for sure! Luckily, all of the lawmaker’s assistants that I met with were kind and compassionate. It felt like they were hearing what we had to say, but they also were honest about what an uphill and long battle this is going to be. It certainly won’t be a quick change, as it involves a lot of different issues. We have to keep trying though. We have to fight for this change. We won’t stop until airplanes are fully accessible, allowing ALL the opportunity to travel humanely. 💚
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| Some of our awesome group of MDA Advocates |
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