iowakatie1981

Hi, and Happy Holidays, to all you friendly people! I've been lurking around here for a little while, ever since the news of "enhanced" "pat-downs" started to hit the media.

I don't fly super-often, and when I do, it's almost always personal rather than business. I'm getting ready to fly 12/27 (MSP to AUS), returning 12/31. However, I'm starting to get really anxious already.

I am an amputee - my leg was amputated when I was 12, due to bone cancer. The amputation was done right at the knee, but my prosthesis goes ALL the way up - right up to my hip/crotch - as it provides better stability (or so they tell me!).

There's no point in going near the nudey-scanner, since I know they're going to "pat" me "down" (feel me up) anyway. And besides, I've been exposed to enough radiation in my life. I'm just wondering - how bad is the sexual assault going to be? And what is the best way to handle it (pre, during, and post)?

I want to be as compliant as possible, and try to be kind and charitable towards the TSOs, and I'm working hard to suppress my passive aggressive tendencies. But I also don't want to allow myself to be groped, I don't want anyone's hands down my pants, etc...I don't do well with being touched there, especially by a stranger, for a variety of reasons.

I'm traveling alone, and I know that my natural tendency (no matter how much I psych myself up ahead of time) will be to do exactly what they want - I am the epitome of that "let's pick the women traveling alone b/c they won't fight" persona.

My plan right now is to have the complaint form in hand (pre-filled out with all the "known" info), the TSA complaint number is already saved in my phone. I'm trying to decide what to wear - Minneapolis in December rather limits my options, but I'm considering a one-piece swimsuit/body suit under my clothes. I also will refuse for any screening to be done in private. I'd rather a bunch of strangers in Minneapolis see my ugly body than to risk whatever might happen in private where no one else can see. I hope and pray that I can keep my mind functioning well enough in the moment to remember to ask for name and badge number of the screener, and for her to change gloves.

Does anyone have any other advice, or are there any amputees out there with experience with the "new" procedure?

Finally, I will be visiting family in Texas, and bringing along lots of Christmas presents. Can I have them wrapped, either in carry-on or checked luggage?

Thanks for the help and advice! I'm going to try to enjoy the Christmas season, rather than spend the next three weeks with high blood pressure in anticipation of this?

Merry Christmas, all!

~Katie

jkhuggins

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

I will skip the main portion of your message, as I don't have any advice on how to transit a checkpoint as an amputee.

But I can comment on your secondary question:

TSA recommends not wrapping the gifts ... if, for some reason, a TSO decides that the gift requires extra scrutiny or testing, it'll have to be unwrapped. (This applies to both checked and carry-on luggage.)

jfunk138

Based on experience during the Thanksgiving holiday, I expect TSA will once again be on their best behavior during your travel period. If you were planning to travel say January 4 or so, it would be a different story. But based on your travel dates you will probably breeze right by the roped off nude-o-scope and the TSA will ignore you in general.

exbayern

Welcome! No skirts as those trigger secondary. Hopefully the previous poster is right and you won't have any issues but I also don't want to have you added to the list of transports with physical issues who were mistreated.

chollie

And please post back here with your experiences. Many of us can not personally attest to the treatment you are likely to receive because we are not in your specific situation, so it will be helpful for other travellers like yourself to have a better idea of what to expect, recommendations or suggestions you might have, etc.

BTW, be sure and put your valuables in a locked compartment of your carry-on before running it through the x-ray. The holidays are busy, you may not always be able to keep your carry-on in sight, and there are ample opportunities for both TSOs and other pax to do some 'shopping', so better to be safe than sorry.

Happy travels!

eyecue

Since you received a non answer from everyone so far:
When you go through the metal detector you will alarm and be subject to being patted down. The prosthetic will also be swabbed for explosive substances as will your hands. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to a private screening and due to the extent of the prosthetic I would excercise that right. IF there is a NOS at your airport that is a non x-ray type, going though that could speed up your experience.
Dont wrap anything that is sharp, electronic, or could seem to be a liquid.

chollie

Or books or cheese or snowglobes...

WindOfFreedom

eyecue, iowakatie asked this: "I'm just wondering - how bad is the sexual assault going to be? And what is the best way to handle it (pre, during, and post)?"

Would you care to (or are you able to) respond in a meaningful way to this specific question?

I am appalled that ANY of us has to ask this question. I WANT MY AMERICA BACK!

iowakatie1981

Thanks eyecue, that sounds like a lot of what I've been through before. I know that I have a right to a private screening, but frankly, I'm more likely to prefer not to exercise it. Like I said, I'm sure everyone is very professional, but I'd prefer to have witnesses to the process, and since I'm traveling alone...Also, I think the whole "going off to a private area" is even more psychologically traumatizing, at least for someone with my specific medical history. Let's just do it and get it over with. Is there any reason why I would be required to be screened in private?

Chollie: Heh. Yeah. And I will definitely report back on how it goes, in MSP and AUS.

sctn8gp

don't be worried about that, go ahead and give them all the grief you can. they make it stressful as a passenger to travel, i want to make it stressful for them to have that job. maybe when enough of them quit, and tsa starts having difficulty replacing stressed out, fed up employees, then policies might change.

as for gifts, any package you have is subject to inspection, which may include unwrapping. to minimize the chance your gifts will be unwrapped, avoid using metallic paper. they usually won't unwrap the gift as long as it can be cleared though x-ray.

iowakatie1981

I have also wondered if TSA would allow me to remove my prosthesis (I could wear shorts) and have it xrayed on the conveyor belt while I just hop on one foot through the mag (I do this at home all the time - well, without the mag part). Then no alarms would be set off, and I could just put my leg back on and go, without being touched. I don't know whether I'm gutsy enough to try this, but it's a thought I've had.

gojirasan

"Enhanced" patdowns are really genital patdowns. So be prepared to have that part of you touched by gloved fingers. It may not happen, but it most likely will. If you don't want to be touched there you should let them know in advance. It may seem obvious but they are likely to think that you don't mind the violation because it "make us safer". They also believe you have consented to such touching when you bought your ticket. So it is up to you to let them know that you give no such consent. It is unfortunate that it has come down to this, but in your case you have the choice to have your genitals touched or not to fly. That is a choice only you can make. If I were you I would weigh the importance of the trip vs. how bad the violation will make you feel. Complaining to the TSA about themselves is not going to help. They will not sympathize with you. Touching your junk is part of their SOP. They would just say that if you didn't like the idea of getting felt up you shouldn't have flown. If you want to cause trouble you will have to file a complaint with an LEO and probably expect to miss your flight in doing so. That will only be effective however if your state has laws against genital touching without sexual intent. Not all states do.

chollie

I can't see why this would be a problem if you can clear the WTMD without holding on or touching the sides. And you'd still have to take off your shoes.

^ I really have to admire your spirit!

gojirasan

I would assume sadism on their part. They will probably be thinking that only a terrorist would show up at their checkpoint with a fake leg. They will be thinking that it is some kind of devious terrorist plot and they will not let you get away with it. I have heard that you cannot touch the sides of the detector or it will go off. So you may have to hop through without touching the sides. Do you have good balance? Could you crawl through the detector? Unless a TSO here tells you that you will get groped anyway, it seems worth a try. It would seem to be your only chance of avoiding the genital grope. It would also be a good test case for other people with prosthetic limbs. Do you have any local airports without the NoS?

iowakatie1981

I know, right? 29-year-old red-headed Lutheran pastors from North Dakota are CLEARLY the type to fake an amputation as part of an elaborate terrorist plot.

Yes, I can easily hop through a mag w/o touching it. As for airports, Fargo is closer to me, and I can't imagine that they have the NoS yet, but I'm flying Southwest, so have to go through MSP. This will probably be my last flight for a while - I see no reason to subject myself to such ridiculousness - but I need to see the fam at Christmas this year, and driving from ND to TX is a little out of the question...