From Facebook post by Sylvia Longmire, June 10, 2025
I know this photo is odd. It’s the gaping hole in the back of my power wheelchair where the battery should be, but instead that battery is somewhere in the Chicago airport while I am here in Orlando. It represents the very real risks that I face when I travel solo as a wheelchair user, risks that were placed front and center during a horrible travel day where I was left stranded several times. The first occasion was when I arrived on the train from downtown Chicago to Chicago O’Hare, and the only elevator going from the platform up to the terminal was broken. Thanks to two amazing young men working at the CTA station, they were somehow able to get me onto a moving escalator in my wheelchair – yes, you read that right – and up to the platform. You can actually watch that insane video reel in my feed.
The second occasion happened when the wheelchair assistance folks at the Chicago O’Hare airport took my battery out of my chair as required, but instead of putting it in the airplane cabin with me, they forgot about it and left it on the jet bridge back in Chicago. Because of a four hour delay, we arrived around midnight, and one unfortunate but very strong and amazing wheelchair assistance person had to push me in neutral all the way from the gate onto the tram, to baggage claim, then to the parking garage and push me into my van. After arriving home at 2:30 AM, I called the fire department to help get me out of my van, wheel me next to my working wheelchair in the garage and transfer me there.
I’m not going to lie, I had a very panicky moment on the airplane when they couldn’t find the battery. I hadn’t used the bathroom in over 12 hours and I hadn’t eaten all day, both of which are typical for travel days when I’m flying. I was exhausted. And trying to make decisions in an emergency situation like that is challenging at best. However, I’ve been planning for this scenario for years, and frankly, with as much travel as I do I’m shocked that it hasn’t happened sooner. It sucks that we have to do this, but 25 wheelchairs are damaged or lost or mishandled every single day by airlines in the United States, so this is just a fact of life.
I am extremely grateful for the angels who showed up for me today, those two men working for CTA at the Chicago O’Hare blue line station at 2PM, the woman whose name I didn’t get who pushed me heroically at 1AM for at least a mile through the Orlando airport B terminal and parking lot, and for the Sanford Fire Department personnel who came to my house at 3 AM to move me literally 20 feet and put all my stuff safely in my house.
When stuff like this happens, I’m tempted to just give up solo travel altogether, which means not traveling much anymore. But if you know me at all, you know that’s not who I am or what I represent. It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a plan, a positive attitude, and the willingness to move past your instinctual cynicism and accept help from extraordinarily kind strangers. Today was one of the most challenging travel days I’ve had in years. But I made it with the help of the extremely kind souls I met today.