I have been dreading this. One of the main reasons I didn’t get the pump sooner was that I didn’t like the idea of trying to get through TSA screenings with the thing. So, I was happy to find that the teetering mound of documentation they provided included a booklet entirely about travel with the pump. For starters, the booklet (titled “Traveling with Your Delivery System”) says to call the TSA prior to your flight; it even provides the appropriate TSA phone number (855-787-2227).

The booklet says to call TSA 72 hours before your flight. It does not say whether that means at least 72 hours or at most 72 hours. I assumed the latter and called about 60 hours before my flight time. This call took almost 40 minutes, so be prepared. I was asked approximately 800 questions, covering things like my flight number, my name, address, and phone number, and finally, the specific manner of help I needed for the screening process. The Vyalev travel booklet says that the pump AND its batteries AND the battery charger cannot go through an X-ray machine. So that’s what I told ’em; the nice lady read it back to me, and we were good to go.

The holy travel booklet also says thou shalt inform the airline in advance that you will need “special assistance”. In the confirmation email that I had received from American Airlines, I found a link to do just that. This was MUCH simpler than the TSA call. Just a few quick clicks, and it told me someone would be contacting me ‘in the days leading up to your trip’ to get all the important details. This didn’t happen.

So, when I arrived at the airport 3.5 hours before my flight time (an hour earlier than I usually do), half of me expected TSA to be ready for me, and for American to be unprepared. The other half of me figured they would not need the advance preparation. After all, I was flying out of Charlotte Douglas, the 7th-busiest airport in the world; surely the TSA and airline personnel there see this kind of thing every day. As it turned out, the latter half of me was correct. Here’s what actually happened…

I arrived at the Charlotte airport with a bag to check, and one to carry on. The carry-on bag had nothing but medical supplies in it, with the vast majority of the bag space being taken up by pump-related supplies. I went directly to the American Airlines luggage check kiosks. I entered my confirmation number, and the kiosk told me to wait for a customer service representative. No one showed up, and the kiosk eventually timed out. I tried this again and was again told to wait for someone who never showed up. I flagged down a passing American employee, who directed me to the previously-unnoticed-by-Cedric customer service desk.

There were three or four people staffing this desk and a short line fer waitin’ in. After just a few minutes’ wait, I was asked for the important details I had not yet had the opportunity to provide to American. Since American does not take part in the TSA screening, they didn’t need to know the technological details. According to the exalted booklet, I just needed to tell them I MUST remain close to my carry-on and that my medical equipment and supplies cannot be subjected to the environmental conditions in the cargo hold.

The American Airlines representative moved me way up the boarding order to guarantee I could find overhead space for my medical supplies bag, which I did. She then directed me to the also-unnoticed-by-Cedric wheelchair service. My ‘pusher’ noted the TSA Pre-Check on my boarding pass and thrusted me forward through the crowds with all his might. The results were tragic. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. The TSA officers stated outright they had not known that I was coming, but that didn’t matter because they knew exactly what to do in these situations. They had me frisk myself. Seriously, I had to pat down the area around my pump, then they swabbed my hands and checked for traces of explosives. Meanwhile, the Vyalev batteries and charger were carried past the checkpoint, while my carry-on bag and its remaining contents went through the X-ray machine. After I had all my stuff back together, the pusher continued, pushing me all the way to my gate. Hundreds more fatalities occurred.

PD Travel Tips:

You should have no problem getting through TSA screening, and you will NOT need to disconnect yourself from the pump. Pack the charger and extra battery somewhere you can quickly extract them. Notify the airline in advance that you will need “special assistance” as you have a medical device that cannot be checked. Notifying the TSA in advance seems unnecessary, at least at the major airports. However, I have already received a voicemail message from a TSA officer in Des Moines, Iowa regarding the return flight. I’ll let y’all know how that goes.