Family is Everything

Well, I am home now from my son's wedding and it was wonderful!

I am so proud of myself because I stood up (with help getting up) for all the pictures & my dance with my son. My whole family stepped up to the plate for me, helping me lift my leg to get into the van, pushing my wheelchair so I did not miss a thing all week, et all. These family members don't see me very much so it was great of them to see that I (& my mom) needed help for this important event.

I made arrangements for a wheelchair at the airports & that speeded things tremendously at security & the gate--the only problem I had was at a small regional airport, it was a small plane & the only way on or off was by way of a flight of stairs--but the gate attendant & the fight attendants were very helpful & I could take my time without feeling rushed. I used my own wheelchair in the first of 2 airports & checked it at the plane to meet me at my final destination (I had an airport chair & attendant at O'Hare-which is needed because the gates were in a different terminal). When making your arrangements, give yourself at least 1 1/2 hours between flights for delays & your own slowness. The security, since I had made wheelchair arrangements, got me the through the pre-check (& my family too) which meant we did not have to take off our shoes or empty our bags of laptops etc. I got on the plane first so I could make my way to my seat without being rushed (because I move slowly)---now the airplane bathrooms are another story...if you can avoid it, do not use them, stay in your seat & use the one in the airport,there is barely enough room in them to pull up your pants in the airplane one!

Overall,it was a great trip-I had to overcome my anxiety of my mother being my caregiver (my husband did not go) but everyone-family & future in-laws alike-made things very successful.

Thank you to everyone.