this rainy day

It has been rainy and cold in Chicago today. That's why I've stayed in the motel, well, that and having no place else to go. Now that I've decided to write I'm sure Tanisha will come back any minute but I just have to say a few things about how crazy it is to travel with this disabled lady. She calls me and others like me "able-bodieds" like we were from another planet and should be punished for being here.  Yesterday my punishment was flying up here to Chicago with Tanisha, her hoyer lift, her manual wheelchair, two Roho cushions, her $30,000 electric wheelchair, the battery charger for said chair, 4 suitcases, 3 carryons, a bag of lunch, 3 eggcrate mattresses, a set of bed risers, and numerous pieces of bedding. As we passed laboriously through security (challenge number one), one of the workers asked which airline we were flying on and did they know we were coming with this much stuff. Of course they knew we were coming. Tanisha had been making calls all the week before to let them know.  As we got to the gate over an hour early and started our wheelchair wrapping project we actually collected an audience.  Michelle and I piled all of our loose "stuff" into the electric chair that Tanisha had just vacated and wrapped it with the eggcrate mattresses and a whole roll of duct tape. It was a work of art, complete with warning signs lest anyone should turn it on it's side, bump it, or mar it in any forseeable way (challenge number two).  It was a relief when the baggage guys came up and took it away. They always say they're going to be extra careful but when you have to put something weighing 420 lbs. in the hold of a jet it always results in some damage.

The next challenge was at the end of the jetway where we got Tanisha into that skinny little chair with no arms and three or four people disappeared with her into the plane to get her seated. I'm glad I don't have to be there to witness that - there's never enough room for me to do anything to help. I stayed out in the jetway and broke the hoyer and manual wheelchair down into pieces I thought the baggage guys could handle and off they went. They also took two of our larger carryon suitcases just to make it easier for us. Airtran charges for anything you ask to be checked - $20 per case. But if they decide to take it themselves you don't pay anything.  And this is very good for us because we always have more than we are really allowed to carry on. So after the equipment and extra bags disappeared we actually looked like we were following the rules. Tanisha had been lifted into an aisle seat. In Airtran planes one's knees always touch the seat in front so after stowing our remaining bags in the overhead bins I did my circus act and bounded over Tanisha's legs and settled in for several hours of avoiding her wiggles and stretches. In Chicago everything had to be reversed and put back together again. I was amazed that I remembered how it all went. Our journey started at 7:30 in Sarasota and ended about 9:30 in Chicago. By 10:30 we were in the transit van headed to the hotel. I still had to unpack, set up the room and get Tanisha to bed. My phone clock said 3:20 am when I laid down to sleep but it might not have adjusted for the new time zone yet. I am getting better, quicker and more experienced each time we do this - I can tell.

For instance, experience has taught me to avoid the roll away beds that they bring us. I just take the mattress off and lay it on the floor. It's better for my back and much quieter. She slept until almost eight and I felt pretty rested too by that time. We needed it. I spent the day after Tanisha left cleaning up the room and reading. Looking out the window at the rain and just relaxing was a good break from yesterday's madness.

 In the midst of looking out for all of Tanisha's stuff I managed to leave my new Kindle in the airplane. This is really sad for me - I hadn't even gotten over the thrill of having one yet and now it's gone.  I've called the lost and found but I'm counting it as loss and not expecting to see it again. All for today.