Sometimes Using Airport Assistance Is Not Enough When Living With PsA

I love going on trips and seeing new places I have never been to. However, psoriatic arthritis has made it harder and harder as the years go on to do that traveling.

I once took a car ride that was 16 hours in length in one day. I cannot do that now. I am lucky if I can ride 3 hours in a car without making multiple stops.

The same holds true even when it comes to flying. All the airport sitting is not good when it comes to having psoriatic arthritis. It just seems to hurt far worse now than it ever used to.

I do use airport assistance to get me from terminal to terminal, but even with that, it still requires a lot of sitting. The body pain from all that sitting is getting worse and worse.

Using airport assistance

I started using airport assistance probably about two years ago when one of my psoriasis friends told me about it. I assumed it came with costs attached to what is already a substantial price to fly was not something I could afford.

Imagine my surprise when my friend told me it was free and available at every airport in the United States. She travels a lot, so I didn’t doubt what she was telling me.

Another surprise came when she told me that you do not need to prove why you need assistance. You just have to have a need for it.

One of the hardest things for me now is to go on long walks. There is no way I could walk to various terminals in such a huge airport like Atlanta or Chicago O’Hare. It would be physically impossible for me to do now.

Assistance options

When you get into the airport, you have to go up to the ticket counter. You have to check in with them so they can line out the assistance you will need to get to your flight.

That assistance comes with three options:

1. They can take you from terminal to terminal in a wheelchair or on a cart.
2. They not only take you to the terminal but can also take you down the catwalk right before you board the plane.
3. They can even take you in a wheelchair onto the plane to your seat. Once your flight is over, they can then give you the same service to your next terminal should you have one.

Whatever assistance you need, you must guarantee that you can make your journey through the airports.

Having to sit long-term

The only drawback I have experienced when using airport assistance is that you must sit a long time in their airport wheelchair, which is not comfortable at all. It does not have extra cushions that a standard wheelchair has.

When your back has permanent joint damage from psoriatic arthritis like mine does, it will bring forth pain to the lower back. On my last trip, I had a two-hour layover between when my flight landed and my connecting flight.

While it was a great reason for the travel, the pain from psoriatic arthritis almost made it unbearable. Why am I telling you this? The short answer is that I want everyone to be prepared when using the service.

The long answer is that, given the pain I was in, I do not know how much longer I will be able to travel, which truly makes me sad. If you have suggestions on making it less painful, I would love to hear it.