Flying with the brace

We recently returned from a wonderful trip to visit family.  We had great fun reconnecting with aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, grandparents, and friends.

This was our first time flying with the brace.

The plan was to have Dancer Girl take it off to go through security so there would be no embarrassing beeps and possible searches or questioning.

Then she was going to put it back on to board the flight and wear it on the plane.

That didn't last long.

The seats are too uncomfortable, the aisles too narrow, the maneuvering in and out of spots too difficult. Being quite tall she is already lacking extra comfort space on an airplane, especially if the person in front of her reclines their seat.

Off it came and it was stowed in a bag in the overhead compartment.

We had two fairly short flights plus customs so she would have had to take it on & off multiple times for security and getting on & off planes.  Perhaps on a longer flight she could have figured out how to make it work but the thought of changing in and out of it in short succession was daunting.  In the end we opted to have her not wear it on the plane and to wear it when she arrived, but after the initial hugs and hellos.

I think the hardest part about having it along on vacation was the unpredictable schedule - sudden outdoor activities like a beach day or two, horseback riding, playgrounds, etc. that are not brace friendly were quite common.

She did wear it every night and whenever we weren't out so in the end she got a good number of hours in every day.

Now we are back home and can relax until things gear up for the fall so she can get back into a regular routine for the brace.