flying high: an update

i just got back from a trip to toronto that proved to be full of milestones i want to remember. first and foremost, i rode on a plane in a middle seat with the seatbelt buckled with no extender, the armrests down and the tray table in it's NON upright position. pretty amazing feeling, i have to say, even through my xanax haze.

although i still don't enjoy flying, it's really interesting to see how much less anxiety i have about it when the whole issue of seatbelts and size and space aren't in play. in the past, i would have hesitated to go at all, and even if i had broken through that wall, i would have worried myself numb for the month leading up to it about getting there early enough to get to the ticket counter and explain how if there were any extra seats on the flight, could i please be seated next to one of them to give me extra room. in most cases, the flight staff were nice about it, but to even have to ask...not a highlight. of course i came with my own extender - like a plus size barbie - that mitchell and i had each gotten from a really great site that sells items for really heavy people. i remember upon discovering it, the relief and calm i felt at not only the knowledge that other people had trouble getting shoes on and reaching their feet and buckling standard seatbelts and sitting in beach chairs...but that there was actually a company that catered to us.

not only that, but i was able to slide my rubber boots on and off with ease each time we passed through security, and able to sleep on an air mattress comfortably (though i can't say i wasn't worried about a weight limit or that i didn't bruise my knees every time i had to get up by kneeling on the wood floor - next trip).

all my relatives that i saw were well aware of the surgery and asked tons of questions which i loved answering. it felt really great to talk about, and i felt like it was great for me to be talking to some new people about it, since i tend to talk to the same people about it in my every day life. it was great to have fresh questions to answer, and fresh answers to ponder.

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