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This was the trip that would challenge Andrew and determine just how well I had prepared him for international travel. Entrance to Beijing, China, was frenzied and exasperated by a multitude of unexpected health issues.
Unexpected Surgery
Andrew had an unexpected surgery the week before our travels. The flex nails that had been inserted into Andrew’s broken leg, after a ski accident, needed to be removed immediately. The original plan was to remove the flex nails after our trip, but the perfect scenario was not going according to plan. In addition, pins were inserted into the growth plates of the opposite leg. This would prevent growth and give the shorter broken leg time to catch up in length. Since we were flying standby, cancelling our trip was no issue. The only money I would lose was what I had already spent on our hostel. The war of the shoulder angels started – to go or not to go?
Pre-Departure to Beijing
Andrew had five days of recovery before we departed. With his doctor’s blessing we deemed that he could recuperate overseas as well as he could at home. As if surgery wasn’t enough though, it was at the Detroit Metropolitan airport that Andrew let me know his throat hurt and his nose was stuffy. I came very close to hopping a flight home. It was my lovely, strong daughter who convinced me to push forward and my husband who assured me that he would keep the home fires burning.
Wheelchair Services
Wheelchair service at the terminals and between flights were a blessing. The airport wheelchairs at Detroit Metro are easy to maneuver with one hand thus leaving the opposite hand free to pull luggage. There are luggage hangers on the back of the chair and space underneath for a small suitcase. The airport has nice family bathrooms that accommodate passengers with wheelchairs.
In-Air
We were blessed to sit in Delta One which is a rare occurrence. The service was wonderful, and Andrew knew all the crew members personally by flight’s end. I was grateful that Andrew could lay down during the flight. His worsening sore throat and sinus infection remained a concern. Andrew slept almost half of the 12-hour flight to Beijing. Me? I have never been able to sleep on an airplane, so the lack of sleep signals was no surprise. One would think that after flying for the airlines for so long I would have learned how to cat nap and sleep while flying. Not.
Entrance to Beijing, China
Thankfully, Delta had a wheelchair waiting for us in Beijing. It was obvious from the beginning that the female airport attendant did not want to push Andrew through the airport. She did everything to get me to take control of the chair. I had my hands full and the archaic wheelchair had no luggage space, so I stood my ground. I have no idea how I would have found all the hidden elevators that we had to take. We didn’t traverse the same corridors that my fellow two-legged passengers took and secretly I was grateful to have someone lead me around.
Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK)
Beijing Capital International Airport is a beautiful modern airport but like all airports, it is not without issues. For such a lovely, modern airport it lacks air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. Andrew, whose body doesn’t regulate temperature well, was becoming overheated before we ever finished with the obnoxious finger printing machines. I recognized four red flags that I knew could trigger a major meltdown. He was jet lagged, overheated, still recovering from surgery, and had the beginnings of a sinus infection. I knew I was pushing his limits but he endured.
The Fingerprint Assault
The entrance to Beijing, China, requires computerized fingerprinting. There are at least fifty scanners giving an irritating command that keeps repeating: “Place your 4 left fingers on the screen.” “Place your 4 left fingers on the screen.” The verbal assault is continued until it either stores your fingerprints or a queue specialist hauls you to another line. To the jet lagged passenger, the absurdity creates a satisfying vision of using a baseball bat to instill peace. Unfortunately, all prints are needed so the process is continued with the left hand. If per some chance the goddess of luck prevails, you might finally get your thumbs screened. Our wheelchair attendant, already put out with us, was ready to kill. To her dismay, as well as ours, we were issued to yet another longer line. It seems I wasn’t the only fingerprint-less traveler.
Passport Control
We endured another thirty minutes of fingerprint screening commands. A multitude of various people pushed down on my hand, moving it every way conceivable. When cleaning my sweaty paws with a wipe didn’t work, they finally ushered us over to yet another queue. Finally, we found the magic scanner. By this time, Andrew was passed out from exhaustion but then it was his turn. The agents made him look up into the lights so that they could compare his face to that of his passport. I thought this might be the final meltdown trigger, but Andrew surprised me. He cooperated and went back to sleep; it was, after all, about 4 am our body time.
Security and Immigration
Going through immigration, the agents acted like they didn’t know what to do with a kid in a wheelchair. I had been separated into a different queue and was trying to handle the luggage, re-fingerprinting (why?), and passport questions. I kept glancing backwards to where Andrew was with the wheelchair attendant. The agents were trying to get a very sleepy Andrew to hold his arms out straight and lean forward. Lack of muscle tone and sleep deprivation made that an impossible task, so one agent held his arms while the other frisked him. A light, tickling, frisking touch is a no-no for a kid on the Prader-Willi spectrum and I was too far away to tell them that they needed to apply pressure. The trouble started when one agent went up under Andrew’s shirt and started feeling skin. The second, simultaneously inserted a hand under his pant leg. I could feel Andrew’s stress two lines away.
Thank you to Image by dadaworks from Pixabay for allowing me to use this photo.
Entrance to Beijing, China. Just do as They Say-Unless you’re a kid.
Andrew came awake and let everyone in the building know that for all practical purposes he was ‘done’ and that no one needed to be touching him. Andrew was literally fighting the officer’s advances. I abandoned passports to the control officer. Leaving our luggage, I literally jumped over a gate and crawled under a glass door to get to Andrew. I think just about every Chinese official realized that it was not wise to keep momma-bear from her cub at that moment. No one tried to help me, but they didn’t stop me either.
Close Call but not a Meltdown
Andrew did a good job at letting the agents know that their touchy-feely methods were not acceptable. Several passengers commented that Andrew was just voicing what they all felt only he was able to get away with it. Everyone seemed to be cheering for him. Finally, after calming Andrew, as well as the wheelchair attendant, I managed to get back to the line that I was still holding up. I was thankful that I didn’t have to crawl under the glass door again.
Entrance to Beijing, China – Finally
By the time the wheelchair attendant, Andrew, and I reached transportation we looked like we had been sitting in a sauna for several hours. The attendant wasted no time abandoning us. She practically dumped Andrew out of the chair at the feet of our driver, and promptly disappeared. It was 5:45 am body time; twenty-two hours after we had left home. Our entrance to Beijing, China was not for the fainthearted, but we endured.
* Reminder* This is a safe site for children. If comments are not
tastefully stated they will disappear in a “POOF”!
