I’m relatively new to using a wheelchair on a part-time basis, so despite my extensive use of forearm crutches while traveling, I recently took my first long-distance trip with my chair.
There wasn’t much that went into the decision since I didn’t felt that I had another viable option. I was flying home at the last minute for an emergency, and I was leaving from one of the country’s largest airports after a three-hour drive in torrential rain.
My husband helped me set up my wheelchair and arrange my crutches on the back so that I could keep them with me in case of any hiccups. I was in the airport for about five minutes before I encountered my first problem: an exasperated employee who seemed wildly inconvenienced when I asked him to help me bring my small suitcase to the desk to check it.