Monday, October 13, 2014

TSA Fail

Like I've said I have been dealing with The Beast for 17 years. During that time I lived overseas, I went to college a flight away and have traveled on so many occasions I cannot count. I know the drill when it comes to flying and am always fully prepared. Like all diabetics wearing a Dexcom & pump I cannot go through the body scanners and while sometimes by sheer luck I am sent through the metal detector line more often then not I end up getting up close and personal with a TSA agent for a pat down. While this is not my favorite thing I totally recognize the importance of security especially in this day and age and realize that everyone is just doing there job. I am always patient, understanding and 100 percent cooperative. And this strategy has never failed me, I usually get someone who is friendly and understands the basics of diabetes and after some patting and some testing of my devices I'm on my way to enjoy the rest of my flying experience. 

In late september I was flying back to Boston via the Charleston airport and was expecting all to go according to plan. I told the agent I was wearing my devices and needed to opt out of the scanner. OK, fine, all is good. I stand to the side for a moment and a female TSA agent comes to collect me and my things. We stand off to the side and she tests my hand and my pump for explosive materials. After a few seconds the screen turns red and beeps like crazy. Okay, thats not great. I knew right away this experience was going to be different and because of that first faulty reading I needed to be super careful and vigilant. I've heard of people getting sucked into long detainments at the airport due to things like this so immediately my guard was up. 

The TSA agent panicked, and honestly rightfully so it's not something I've ever seen before, and called over her manager. They agreed to the retest on another machine and then do a pat down. The re-test went fine, everything was clear and the pat down is where the trouble began. The agent asked me repeatedly to remove my infusion set and Dexcom transmitter. Calm, cool and collected I told her that I cannot, that this is standard procedure and she should proceed. It was very clear at this point she had no idea what she was doing and was terribly confused. I was starting to get pretty frustrated when she asked if I had something else in the back of my jeans, I did not. When she finished the pat down she told me she would need to see my sites. 

This is where things take a turn. This is completely illegal. For anyone who is unaware under no circumstances should a TSA agent ask to see any part of your skin. No procedure should ever entail you lifting or lowering any of your clothing to revel a port or infusion site. I knew this, but I didn't actually know my rights. I stated how uncomfortable I was with this and said no. But she insisted and I honestly wasn't looking forward to missing my flight, or being detained alone in Charleston. I should have asked to speak with a supervisor but I didn't. I clenched my fists, bit my tongue and went into a private screening room. I showed her my Dexcom site as well as my infusion set, which by the way were on my lower back/upper butt-ish. AWKWARD. Also again, completely unnecessary and completely illegal. 

When she finally let me go I was so mad at myself for allowing that to happen. I should have insisted that this wasn't part of protocol. I should have known my rights, I should have asked for a supervisor I should have demanded someone else. But instead I grinned and bared it. I filed a complaint immediately and was actually contacted by the head of TSA at the Charleston airport. She was very nice and apologized, said this was a total breach in protocol and that the agent has been spoken too and was also retrained. So it has been resolved. But boy do I feel wary of my next traveling experience, at least this time I will know my rights. 

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