Me and my LVAD returns to Los Angeles

Me and my LVAD returns to Los Angeles

Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price. -Amelia Earhart, "The Fun of It", 1932

If you had asked me 6 months ago how I thought the trip would go, I would have been very anxious in my reply. This was a trip to see my in-laws and knew that would go as well as it could. The actual flying part didn’t bother me either to be honest. What I was most concerned about was the preparation of documenting my medical condition, my LVAD and its internal/attached components as well as all the support gear. The trek of gathering and preparing this information, getting in touch with the right people in order to advise them of my situation and personal medical equipment required, did take patience and perseverance. After all I did not want to go to the airport with several bags of gear that might/would look suspicious to the untrained eye.
Before I go on, let me express that patience, cooperation, and understanding is critical. Although the airports I traveled are high volume airports and they have far greater exposure to the wide array of things that passengers might try to bring on board whether medically necessary or not. It would be a tough job for most anyone of average intelligence (no insult intended here-just saying it is a tough job) to stay on top of what is safe and or reasonable necessary for a passenger to carry on board.
For those who plan to fly, and have an uncommon medical apparatus, especially one with internal/external medical components; DO PLAN TO DO SOME HOMEWORK IN PREPARATION. On TSA’s website and through most airline or travel websites will show you what devices are already acknowledged like pacemakers, certain types of assisted breathing devices and so on. Check out the website ( http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/index.shtm ), they may be aware of your type device and all you need is a doctor’s waver that it is ok for you to fly (depending on the situation with somebody else or by yourself). This should be dated relatively close to your travel dates. The next most important thing is if you have extra carry-ons due to your medical condition, then it would be beneficial to have or prepare documentation as to why certain items may need to be part of your carry-ons.
In addition to your doctors release and any other documentation you decide to prepare, there are some contacts you should make (make record of who and when you spoke to someone and the outcome) I recommend you advise the airline(s) at both the time of purchase of your tickets and then call a couple of days prior to your departure, re-advise them of your situation and have them list you as needing assistance to pre-board if that is applicable. I had three carry-on’s of significant size (total of 120+ pounds total), so pre-boarding was essential in order to insure they were close at hand should the need arise. For example, my batteries last about 4 hours, so I need access to change my batteries as needed. The bulk of my gear has to do with if the flight were delayed, canceled, or aborted mid trip and I get stuck staying in an airport/hotel over night overnight without my luggage, my carry-ons must support me until I reach my destination which includes the balance of my life support equipment as my rechargeable batteries will only last about 24 hours before needing to be recharged.
In working with TSA in preparation of the trip I had to be pretty persistent to obtain specific airport contacts for LAX and Columbus Ohio. Once I was able to reach these individuals, it seemed like everything came into place. With Delta reservations, I did have to speak with a reservations manager in order to feel that I had succeeded in conveying my specific medical needs in order to travel. I will say all contacts at both TSA and Delta were positive in stating that most any equipment within reason that was medically necessary and fit safely on the plane would be accommodated. Since mine involved several carry-on bags for one person, I really persisted in them understanding that ahead of time.
So even though the destination of visiting my in-laws may not have been my top destination choice, it was a successful uneventful trip travel wise much to my surprise. I won’t give individual names here for privacy sake, but I will say to the TSA managers and crews handling security at LAX, Terminal 5, August 10, evening shift (8:00 p.m.) and the Columbus, Ohio, Terminal C, August 15th late afternoon, (5:30 p.m.) were stupendous. I could not have asked for a better experience. I am sure this is the type experience they work hard to achieve for all passengers. I know unfortunately there are some who haven’t had as pleasant an experience. I honestly believe in most cases it was individual’s response (whether it be a TSA employee’s or the passenger’s) that comes into question and not by TSA itself. I have been to have a short fuse which would not help if things went awry from a passenger’s vantage point, as well as seeing an agent over extend or mishandle their authority. It is going to happen.
And to Delta (flight 1766 to LAX to CMH on 8/10 and1673 CMH to LAX on 8/15), I will say my pre-board could not have been nicer. They assisted me with my bags (I know they went beyond what should be expected in the assistance), they were just great!
So this is definitely one time I can give kudos to TSA and to Delta as they provide a very positive start and finish to my first flight since receiving my LVAD implant. They were great! (And no this is not a paid advertisement, and I, Josh Bristow authorize this statement) J.
This trip opens the door for me to future travel. Although I cannot afford to travel as much as I would like, at least I know I can. I do plan to see my sister soon in Florida and other friends as finances permit.
My next adventure is to again return to weight training and cycling. In spite of knowing what is good for me, I sort of stopped working out for a couple of months. I do miss it and I know it does pick up my spirits a bit when I do. With the success of this trip to build on, returning to the gym should help with my sense of ability and capacity to live. I have struggled with depression for a good part of my life and I have allowed my current medical challenges with life to feed my depression. Sure I have reason enough to feel depressed. I equally have reason to want to live the rest of my life to its fullest. This is what I will strive for. I know returning to my workout routine at the gym will help in dealing with my battles of depression. We also have adjusted a couple of my medications, so hopefully the combination of changes/efforts will make it easier to see the sunnier side of life.
Anyway enough for this entry, now that I am home, I have more doctors to see this next week as I traverse this journey of life. For the most part all is good and that I need to focus on.
I want to give a special thinks for the support of my life partner Don who has had to cope with all the changes in my life and accept them as part of his own.
Namaste