The Plane Ride From Dereks View

I must admit that I was really nervous about getting on the plane and putting my primary chair (and only chair) underneath the plane. The airline was very accommodating and even let me watch them load my chair into the cargo box. I made sure that I stressed how important that chair was to me and that I needed it to be in one piece when I got to my destination. We did not check the power wheelchair or my manual wheelchair at the front ticket counter. We checked them at the gate and that's why I was able to watch them load my power wheelchair.

I also read on the web somewhere before we left to write a sign in the language, of the country that you're going to, just explaining to them that this chair is your legs and to please be extremely careful. This was great advice and I definitely used it. I also took the Rojo cushion off and also took the head rest off.

Loading into the plane and onto the seat went really smooth. They used an aisle chair to get me onto my seat. I tried putting the Rojo cushion down on the airplane seat so that I could sit on it but it was too long and wouldn't work (be advised that if you do use the Rojo cushion take some air out of it as it will inflate when the cabin gets pressurized). The plane ride was nine hours and I just made sure to constantly rock back and forth and my wife would stand me up periodically just to relieve some pressure from my rear. Overall, it was not a horrible experience but it obviously was not the most comfortable thing in the world.

When we arrived to Rome. They brought me my personal mechanical wheelchair and when it came to me they broke the pad off of the armrest. This was not a huge deal but I was just hoping that my primary chair made the trip! Once we exited the plane we waited in the loading area for my power chair. It made it!! When I saw the chair coming up the terminal, I felt relieved and now I was ready to conquer Rome!

The Disability

I am a C2 incomplete quadriplegic that can"walk" with assistance, but my arms are really not that functional. I broke my neck while skim boarding at the beach in Hollywood, Florida on September 30, 2010. I was in the ICU for six months on a ventilator. That was the longest six months of my life because I barely got to see my three kids and I was constantly getting poked and prodded! My wife is my caregiver along with all the other hats that she wears. For those of you in the spinal cord community I have to cath twice a day and do the bowel program every night. I use an external catheter along with a leg bag for urine and take multiple pills for spasticity and tone. At the end of the day, I thank God that I'm alive and able to see my family every day.

After getting out of the hospital and getting more stable, it was time for a vacation!!! We went on a Walt Disney World trip in Orlando, Florida and had a lot of fun. My wife has always had dreams of traveling all over the world. After that Disney World trip, we would go to the west coast of Florida to Tampa and visit my sister. The beaches on the West Coast of Florida are very calm so I was able to get into the water with a beach chair that the lifeguards lent me. With these two trips under our belt, my wife decided it was time for a European cruise!! We will get into more detail with that to come.