A New Adventure Begins
- Brenda Smith
- Mar 17
- 3 min read
Eager to travel The first day of my participation in a medical trial to evaluate a new therapy for treating Stiff Persons Syndrome began with a March 16th departure at 9am from my home in Belfast, Maine, in the company of my travel companion, Jenny Becksted. Though I knew the journey to Denver would tax me to my limit, I felt enthusiastic and optimistic about this amazing opportunity.
Our driver got us to Bangor International Airport well in advance of our scheduled departure time of 12:35pm. The airport in Bangor is quite small with just 8 gates and one runway. Friendly airport staff help to check us in. My Zinger Power Chair proved a device they weren't familiar with. They discussed at some length about how to check it in and transport it. Then it was upstairs by elevator to process through TSA, again passing through with my power chair. I had to use a special lane requiring a body pat down by a female agent. She also scanned my chair with a wand. And though it went through the x-ray scanner, another male agent inspected my carry-on bag by completely unloading. He found no weapons, drugs or other illegal contraband. Meanwhile, Jenny sailed through the TSA checkpoint with no questions asked.
A Day of Delays
The travel agent had booked us on a "turn around flight" coming from Laguardia, which we soon learned would be delayed by 30 minutes. When the small jet pulled up to the gate, we watched the arriving travelers disembark. Ten minutes later, they motioned for me and Jenny to board first. Once everyone had taken their seats, the attendant discovered the door wouldn't close. The pilot investigated and sent pictures to Delta's maintenance team to diagnose the problem. Finally, Delta dispatched a contractor to attempt to fix the problem. This process took two hours to fix.
We had a planned three and a half hour layover at LaGuardia Airport, but the delay and repairs in Bangor had cut that time to just one hour. Also, I had to wait until everyone else departed before they could retrieve my Zinger so I could disembark. We were cutting it close to make our connecting flight in New York.
When we arrived in New York, we found that our flight to Denver also had been delayed by an hour. Not just ours, but most all flights on the departure and arrivals board showed a delayed status. So that gave us about forty minutes to explore the concessions area. Though I liked the baseball cap, I didn't need to spend $20 on it.
Instead, I bought a lovely cookbook for my friend, Monica, a Denver area resident and a collector of fabulous cook books. She will help me so much during my stay in Denver. She's also my medical proxy. We boarded our flight to Denver close to 6:30 pm. It surprised us to see four dogs board the plane led on leashes by their owners. One hunkered down in the row in front of me and another in the seat behind me. Good thing I'm not allergic to dogs!
Arriving in Denver
This four-hour flight combined with sitting on the first plane for three and a half hours caused my legs to stiffen painfully, but trying to stand and walk in the aisle would have made them feel even worse. From the sky, millions of lights below us illuminated the night as we descended toward the iconic tented shape of Denver International Airport (DIA). Once on the ground, we again waited until the plane emptied before I reclaimed my Zinger, and we headed toward one of 18 huge baggage carousels to retrieve our luggage. Wowed by the size of the airport, our driver informed us that by size, it's the largest of the airports in the United States. I remarked, "The entire city of Befast would fit on the grounds of DIA, with room to spare!!!"
I expected it would be a simple drive to the hotel at 9pm, but we ran into a traffic jam and for an hour inched along the highway until we reached our exit. At a point far beyond exhaustion, my body cheered as we arrived at the Hyatt House Aurora Hotel.
The moss sculpture board behind the desk fascinated Jenny. I think it's pretty unique too! Jenny helped settle me in my room before settling into hers next door. Gratified that I'd reached Denver, I turned my bedside light off at 11:23 pm.
PS My doctor required me mask during this trip and while around large groups of people, a request I willingly obliged.
Glad you finally made it. Sure Monica will love her new cookbook.
Jenny sounds like a great travel partner!