How Will The Newly Implemented TSA Travel Security Screening Procedures Impact Flight Plans For Amputees?

Since my amputation and subsequent use of a prosthetic I have had some hysterical and amusing moments. Entering the red zone of the G-20 Summit in downtown Pittsburgh wasn't all that comical but it was a taste of things to come. With the announcement of the new travel security screening process and physical pat-downs at airports, some people flew in to a rage about the process. To me, it's nothing new. I am used to being given the strange looks and even with my Terminator leg in full view of the screener I am asked "Please remove your keys and change from your pockets and put them in the basket". Seriously? If you can't look down and see the titanium pylon and carbon fiber socket then chances are you don't need to have the security and screening position that you have.

I completely understand the need for increased security and I don't have a problem with body scanners or anything that can detect bombs, drugs, weapons or other things that are clearly banned from all air travel. What I do have a problem with is the automatonic actions by screeners and their flat out refusal to use their own judgment when it comes to somewhat unique instances. I don't appreciate being told "Please remove that so we can scan it" in front of a whole line of people. When I ask for a chair to sit in while they are examining it I am told, "Oh, this will only take a minute". Are you going to pay my hospital bills if I lose my balance, fall and get hurt while you are trying to determine if my prosthetic (which cost over $16.000.00) is safe or not?

Moreover, I saw one person trying to turn the base of it and hitting it on the side of the scanner rack. If he would have damaged it not only would I have been stuck without a leg but chances are the warranty on my prosthetic would have been voided. In the agreement I signed when I received it, it clearly states that any modification made to it will immediately void the three year warranty on it. Before the newly implemented screening security procedures I had problems but now it is simply unreal. Screeners do not like hearing me scream, "Hey, don't do that" when they pull out a screwdriver to try to see if there is anything hidden inside the titanium pylon. I have wasted more time in security centers when traveling than I care to admit; if my flight is at noon I need to be at the airport at least four hours in advance to be able to make it through security.

I have a visible condition; I can't imagine what people who have rods or other medical devices have to go through when traveling. I do have a medical card that discloses the fact that I wear a prosthetic but that's kind of list whipping out your library card. It looks cool but no one really takes it seriously. My prosthetic doesn't have a cover on it so you see the entire metal pylon and the carbon fiber socket. I can understand asking to remove it and to inspect the inside of it to see if there are any drugs or smuggled goods but it's not like I am The Hulk and have a monster sized leg that I would be able to have a sidearm in.

Aside from the fact that it wastes a lot of my time, it also slows things up for everyone else behind me. If you are a coupon shopper then you know that dreaded groan that people let out when you hand the cashier a half inch stack of coupons. I get the same thing when standing on line at the airport. Kids have different reactions to it; some are enthralled with it and others are scared senseless; even more so when I have to stand there and take it off. If I am wearing shorts it is easy to take off and put back on but when I have jeans on, it's a completely different story. Wearing jeans covers it up but makes it ten times harder to get it off and on. You'd think lifting up the bottom part of my jeans to show them the bottom of the prosthetic would be enough. It isn't.

Things are only going to get worse for people who have medical conditions who are planning on flying during the holidays. I am not seeking any type of special treatment when traveling but I am asking for a little bit of consideration. Don't embarrass me and treat me like I am a potential terrorist or try to take my prosthetic apart. I don't want to breeze through checkpoints but I don't want to have to sit in a little room for an hour feeling like I've done something wrong.