The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Encourages
March (Marzo) 2, 2016- TCS # 487
Happy PTLS Month, My Readers! Yes, It is that Time of Year, PTLS Awareness Month. This is The 9th Year since The Naming of the Syndrome I have, Potocki-Lupski Syndrome or Duplication 17p11.2. Amazing! So, On the This Week’s Newsletter. So, Recently, We had to take a Unscheduled and Last Minute Trip because We had to go to My Aunt’s Memorial in Oregon. Yes, that is what I said, Oregon! It was Stunningly Beautiful with All The Mountains and Nature. But, Something happened along The Way there. We had to Fly there. Now, Everyone has their own issues with Flying. I normally do not, with The Exception of Children, Crying Babies, and Seat Kicking. So, In order to save a bit of Money, instead of Paying those darn Baggage Fees, We decided to pack as Light as we could and Carry Our Bags with us. It worked perfectly flying from Dallas to Salt Lake City (which has Stunning Mountains!) and I had it down; You put the Bag in The Overhead bin and Jam it in to as Small of a Size for Everyone Else to put their Bag in. However, The Flight from Salt Lake City to Medford, Oregon was not as Pleasant. Now, Keeping in Mind that This Plane is much smaller with maybe 30 to 50 Seats, 2 on Each End. My Mom and I were sitting a Row apart, No Problem! I could maybe handle it, right? Well, The Flight Attendant made an Announcement that only those who had Big Bags were to put their Bags up in The Overhead. “Schnikies!” I thought, What am I going to do now?! “Make Do”, I thought. I had done it before putting it under My Seat. So, When I walked up to My Row, I wanted to put My Bag above, but It would not Fit. My Mom asked the guy, who was going to be My Seat Neighbor to move for a Second, The “Neighbor” did not move very far. And, There for My Mom had to say something that let The Guy know that I had needed a bit of extra help. She said, “He needs a little extra help” and I thought nothing of it at the Time until I shoved My Bag on His Seat and then, sideways on The Floor. I then had to get it over to My End and put it under My Seat. It brought quite a bit of Anxiety on My Part to have to do this and The Guy did not even ask for Help, He just stood there watching me struggle to Get My Bag under My Seat. Once I sat down and My Mom luckily offered to Change Seats with Him to sit next to Me. He, of course, was like “That would be Great, that way I don’t have to Help”, He did not say that, but I am pretty sure that, that was What He was Thinking. After I sat down and thought about What My Mom said (Not her fault at all, She was Speaking up for Me). It made me realize that I indeed need a little Extra Help sometimes. Now, Don’t Me Wrong, I love having PTLS and Special Needs. I would not trade it for The World, but At The Same Time, If I am struggling with Something like that, to me, that is like a Limitation. Something that I either need Extra Help in or Can not do. I know that it is not, but It feels that way. Thinking about it afterwards and Even as I write this, It put a Large Dent in Me. One would not think that Something as Minuscule on a Big Trip would Effect Me that much. It was A Large Dent in My Independence. My Feelings were Very Hurt because of that, I mean The Guy stood Very Close to us, watching all of This Go On, Not Helping. I talked to My Mom on the Plane afterwards about it all and How It Made Me feel. Now, I normally don’t like to admit that Yes, I am Human and I do have Strengths and Weaknesses like Everyone Else, I would rather be treated like Everyone Else on The Plane instead of Someone who was “Special”. When I say that, I mean, that People often treat Special Needs People like Children. My Mom and I decided during that Plane Ride to Medford, that I should get on The Plane earlier to get Myself settled before Everyone Else got on The Plane. We did that on The Flights back home, for Fear that, that same Episode would happen again, and Although It helped me, It also kind of Dented me. I am sure that People were looking at Me like “He does not look like He has Special Needs, Why is He going on The Plane First?!” and to know that, Really Bothers Me. You See, When It comes to those with Special Needs, Some People treat those that have Special Needs as Unequals, They talk to them like They are Not Smart. I was putting My Bags up on a Flight from Portland to Salt Lake City, and I almost pressed the button for The Raft and They said “Oh, That’s Okay”, as if saying, “Oh, He has Special Needs, He does not know any better”.
It made me wonder, Do I have to get on The Plane early Every Time? No Matter where I am going? Or Maybe I should learn to Appreciate The Benefits of getting on a Plane Early, after all My Favorite Seat is The Window Seat. I just don't want People looking at Me funny. I mean, I have flown a lot in My Life; Many Places Across The United States; and to London and Stockholm and I have never had trouble like I did on That Flight. Now, Blame it on The Small Plane, The Guy, or The Airline but, that is What happened to Me. Not that I fly often, but It makes me not want to Fly for a While. All in all, I thought that I would tell you, My PTLS Family about This, so that You would Understand and Know, PTLS is a Wonderful Things, but It is not always Perfect.
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Treat Everyone Fairly!
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