Last year about this time I took my first real airplane ride to visit England and our own Ron Hutton. I learned that the airlines can be a big help if you just let them. From the first contact let them know that you will need "special assistance" and repeat it every time you deal with them.

Don't be bashful. Anything available take it. They have entire departments to do this. Tell them that you have no idea what shape you will be in as PD is unpredictable. That way if you are trying out a new dance step when the guy rolls up with the wheel chair it is not so embarrasing.

Ask for help getting around the airport and handling luggage. Aisle seat at a minimum and a bulkhead if available. If ol cs had quietly explained to the flight attendent what was going on they probably would have made an empty first class seat available.

I went through four international airports and didn't walk a step that I didn't want to. And nobody minded. Helping me was their job.

We must put pride aside. We are carrying a burden they cannot imagine. We can at least ask them to hold the door for us.

I did get assistance when I was on the ground. They wheeled me around in a wheelchair as it is a long way between where I got off to ground transportation. Funny thing is, i had a fall getting out of the wheelchair onto the bus for home! . They let me board ahead of time and were in every way accomodating, but i just hapened to be in a "Dyskinetic fit" while on the plane. I never know when it will happen, and for those of you who know, it can be extremely uncomfortable, embarassing, and otherwise a bad trip.
I am going to Barbados with my family soon and dont' know how things will work out. I'll stay at the hotel, while they go galavanting off, and that's fine with me. I guess the best thing that I can do is aneastatize (sp?) myself, so that I sleep all the way. I would choose not to go, but, it's a present for my 50th birthday, and it's an offer that I can't refuse .
I gues the gist of this whole post is when is it too late to stop doing these things, things that "normal" people would love to do, but things which us parkies dread the logistics of?
Thanks to all of you who replied to this post. I pray that God (and Ritalin) give me the strength to endure this next "challenge". cs

you will (likely) never see those people again.

I remember flying from Heathrow, middle of the terrorist alerts, went through the metal detector, set it off, then got nervy and shaky when a chap tried to search me.

These guys are trained to detect stress, mine was pretty evident, attracted security guards like bees to honey. My explanation of PD took some time to be believed.

Went cruising from then on, a method of travel I heartily recommend to any PWP. Stress free boarding and disembarking, give it a try, cruise down to Barbados and you will never fly again (on holiday at least).

Neil.