LinnieSue Williams
Copyright 2000
Three weeks ago, my best friend found out her father had Stage 4 cancer. What a tragedy! Sue and I have been friends for a long time. We met 13 years ago, the day that she delivered her twins (not one of her better days!) and we have been best friends ever since. When she e-mailed me about her dad, I knew I had to be there for her, but how? She lives 6 hours away. I can't drive due to my dizziness, and my husband was not able to take me, so it looked like I was going to have to fly.
Usually this would be no big deal, having flown quite a few times when I was working (and hearing), BUT, I have not flown anywhere since I lost my hearing, much less, fly alone! I was terrified! I had to be there for her, so I decided that I could do this. I am not a shy person, but I also don't wear a shirt that says "I am deaf," so I knew I would have my work cut out for me.
I purchased my ticket via the computer. I was going to fly out of Cincinnati, so I had my son take me to the airport the day before my flight, to make sure everything was set, and we knew where to go and what to do. When I checked in the next morning, I told the attendant at the counter I was deaf. They were wonderful!! There was nothing that they could not do for me. She told me to take a seat and she would let me know when it was time to board. Sure enough, when they called the first class passengers, she came and got me and told me it was ok to board. She had evidently told the attendant on the plane I was deaf because as soon as I was in my seat, she came with a note pad asking me if I needed anything prior to departure. When they did their little spiel about emergency exits and using the seats as a life cushion, she made it a point to stand in front of me and point to the card as she was talking.
During the flight she made sure I had a drink, my breakfast, and also a blanket as it was a bit chilly on the plane. As we approached St. Paul, she wrote me a note and asked if I needed any assistance getting to my next gate! Changing planes was no problem. Again, I told them when I checked in that I was deaf and got the same courteous treatment.
Once I arrived at Sue's house I had another "first". She has two little children, Claire who is 4 and Luke who is 2. They have never been around a deaf person and, although Claire understood that I could not hear, Luke didn't have a clue what was going on. I was a little nervous, not quite sure how to handle the situation, as I had never been around little kids since I had lost my hearing. But, kids are great! Luke kept looking into my ear to see what was wrong with it, and once I told Claire that she needed to look at me when she was talking, and speak really slow, we did pretty well. It is amazing what kids can pick upon. By the end of the week, both were "talking" to meby pointing at things and speaking slowly. Of course Luke was mostly babbling, but when he wanted something, he learned quickly to just take me there and point to it!
When it came time for me to leave, I realized, once again, how much I miss by not being able to hear. Hugging the kids goodbye and not being able to hear them was tough! But the really neat thing was that I was able to teach the little ones some sign language and as I was leaving, Claire signed, "I love you," to me! That made it all worthwhile, let me tell you!
So back to the airport and the apprehension set in again. I only hoped my flight home would be half as good as the one out! And it was! Same excellent treatment and no complaints whatsoever. While I was on layover in St. Paul, I experienced another "first". I used my first TTY pay phone! First I had to find a phone. I asked at the counter and they spent about 10 minutes trying to find one. They finally did, and gave me directions to the other end of the airport. Since I did not know exactly what I was looking for, it took a little while to find it. I kept looking for the TTY machine, not realizing it was located in a little metal box under the telephone! What a laugh! After a few minutes I figured out how to use it and called home. After making my call, I arrived back at my gate only to discover that there was a TTY phone directly across from the gate! Since neither the attendant nor myself knew what one looked like, we passed it right up. (Of course if I had looked up at the blue sign that said TTY, I would have discovered it sooner or later!!)
I finally made it home and was so proud of myself. I had gone on this adventure by myself, not being able to hear and it wassuccessful! I no longer have to be afraid that I can't do something. I may be deaf, but that's my only problem; I can deal with that as long as I am upfront and not afraid to ask for the assistance I need. I have been lucky so far that the people I have met and dealt with since I lost my hearing, have been very, very helpful.I am now ready to make the big plunge -- a flight to San Diego for the SWC Con!! Hope to see you all there!
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