Guest Blog By Caregiver Beth Burdette
My name is Beth Burdette. My husband, Justin, is in the Army and was deployed in Afghanistan on his third deployment when he was hit with a 107 rocket. He lost both legs below the knee, and is currently receiving treatment and rehab at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
About six months after Justin was injured, he was booked for a hunting trip in south Texas. This was his first time flying commercially since he lost his legs. We had both heard news stories and read articles regarding poor treatment of passengers with special needs by the TSA, and had some concerns. Justin had just started walking with one leg before the trip and was still waiting for his other leg to heal. There was no way he could safely walk through the security scanners. He also had to bring along a cooler with ice packs and his IV infusion medication, and I was worried that they would puncture them or try to make us throw them away. And those were just the top things on my list of concerns with flying.
I checked the websites for the airline and the TSA in search of disability accommodations. Both had contact numbers to call, so I did. I explained that my husband was a wounded warrior and told them about his physical limitations and needed medications. Both the TSA and airline were extremely helpful on the phone, but I still had my doubts regarding how my husband would be treated and how his physical limitations would be handled.
The day before our trip, I was contacted by the TSA agent at our departure airport. He explained how things would work and asked what time we planned to arrive at the airport. He also called the morning of our trip to confirm what time we would arrive and how many checked bags we would be bringing. When we got to the airport, he was waiting at the curb for us. He had our boarding passes printed and the tag for our checked bag. He checked our bag and helped carry our carry-on bags. Since we were early for our flight, he brought us up to the lounge to wait until closer to boarding time. He then brought us to the front of the security check point. The agents treated Justin with the utmost respect and both he and his medication made it through with no problems.
At our layover, we were met by another TSA agent who brought us from our arriving gate to our departure gate. As we boarded our next flight, we found that the airline had upgraded us to first class! We had seats on the first row of the plane! Aside from the perks of being first class, being so close to the front made it easier for Justin to get into his seat, and he had easier access to the restroom. This was an unexpected blessing.
When we arrived at our final destination, we were met by another TSA agent who assisted us with our baggage, stayed with us while we waited for our checked bag, and helped us out to the car. She gave me her phone number and informed us that she would be assisting us for our return flight and to call her if we had any questions and to let her know when we expected to arrive at the airport.
For the return flight, we had several people from our trip who were on our first flight. One of the men was paralyzed and in a wheelchair and another was a double amputee who was on prosthetics. Neither had thought to contact the TSA and had a more difficult time going to Texas. Since they were with us for their return flights, they had a much easier time going through security and to the gate.
Calling the airline ahead helped insure that an aisle wheelchair was waiting at the gates to assist in board and leaving the planes since Justin’s normal wheelchair is too wide to fit down the aisles. I am so thankful that the TSA made our air travel so much easier than I had anticipated. Having the help to get through security and the extra set of hands to help me with the luggage was such a relief. I will definitely be calling them ahead of any future commercial air travel because their assistance was invaluable. I cannot think of anything more that the TSA or the airline could have done to improve our travel experience.
To submit a piece to be considered please email us at info@operationward57.org. Don’t forget to include a little short bio on yourself.
The views expressed in this article at those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OPW57 Board or the organization as a whole.
