Traveling alone in a wheelchair for the first time: my first international trip, my first customs line, and a gate check I never saw coming.
The first time I cleared customs in another country by myself, I felt so good. But let me tell you what it took to get there, because nobody knows what that feeling costs.
London was my very first international trip, my very first time out of the country, period. And I was by myself. Their airport was big, and I’ll be honest, I was still shopping around taking it all in, so I was the last person to the gate. I’d been through the security check. I had everything packed, prepared, sealed.
And they were waiting for me. An extra security check, at the gate, in front of everyone. They went through my bags. They went through things that were still sealed, stuff I had just bought. I didn’t know what was going on.
What people don’t understand about traveling in a wheelchair
Here’s what people don’t understand: in a wheelchair, you have to have your head in the game at an airport. You’re managing your body, your transfers, how long you can sit, everything. Every detail is planned. An extra security check was the one thing I wasn’t prepared for.
I felt humiliated. I got on that plane, and I cried a little on that first flight. It was a bad day.
The other half of the story
But here’s the other half of the story: I learned. I learned how the logistics work, how to move through the system, what to expect and when. And now? Clearing customs is one of my favorite feelings in the world, because I remember when it broke me, and now I breeze through.
That’s the whole story of travel, honestly. The system scares you exactly once. Then you learn it. And once you learn it, nobody can keep the world from you.