Grand Island
August 2013
Page 2
Kellisa
has been through 36 U.S. airports and I can assure you that Detroit’s airport
is by far the most difficult to navigate through with a wheelchair and baggage.
We arrived on time and headed towards baggage claim to get our checked baggage
(which was quite a load since I had Kellisa’s Freedom Mobility Chair, travel
wheelchair, luggage and all of our backpacking gear). Next, we headed for the
rental car bus pick-up area. Leaving the baggage claim area, we struggled to
fit on an elevator to go up one floor. A huge thank you to the gentleman, who
had his own young family to navigate through the airport, for helping to hold
the elevator door open as we boarded even though there wouldn’t be enough room
for his family.
After the elevator ride, we made a few turns, walked
across a skywalk, made a couple more turns and rode another elevator down to
the same level we just left minutes before. Once we were back on ground level,
we made a slight turn, squeezed through sliding glass doors and proceeded to
the location of our rental car company’s bus pick-up area. We were probably
less than a hundred yards from the baggage claim area, but it’s not connected
and that’s why we had to take make so many turns and ride two elevators.
Our
bus pulls up and Kellisa bends over with excited anticipation. Kellisa loves
riding on a bus because it’s usually a bumpy, noisy ride. The bus that pulled
up in front of us had a wheelchair lift which only increases the excitement. Kellisa
did her usual curling her head between her knees as she giggled and struggled
not to hyperventilate.
The
bus driver was a friendly lady in her late 40’s to early 50’s that seemed
genuinely happy to be at her job. While she was lifting a row of seats to make
room for the wheelchair, she paid me the following compliments: “thank you for
restoring my faith in men and fathers, there’s still hope”. I didn’t ask for
details, but figured she had been burned at some point in her life.
The
bus driver went out of her way to drop us off as close as possible to our SUV
and helped with our small mountain of gear. As I thanked her and gave her a
tip, she again thanked me for making her day and she told me how “special”
Kellisa was. It made me feel good all the way around even though I always feel
awkward when people think I’m doing something special.
I
don’t do anything different for Kellisa because she can’t physically do things
herself. We do what she likes; it just looks different because I have to be her
arms, legs and back. Helping your daughter have fun is a father’s
responsibility, it’s nothing special. I guess it’s an unexpected sight to some.
It makes me sad and motivates me to spread Kellisa’s story that we never see
other disabled kids in the outdoors, but I’m sure there are many “able bodied”
kids that don’t get the chance either. We’d still be visiting Grand Island if
she was a physically functioning 14 year old who loved outdoor adventures.
With
the SUV loaded, I set the GPS to Ashland, OH and started our long drive.
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