Diabetics: Come Prepared To Stand Your Ground

Help educate TSA Agents,Enough…is Enough! TSA must be better educated about the needs of diabetics.

Going through security yesterday afternoon in Washington, D.C., Jackie, my twin sister, was holding my orange juice, since my already big purse was terribly overfilled. As we rushed to get through security I tried to remember to tell them everything, but in the confusion, all of us forgot to take the juice out of her purse and put it in one of those grey bins to go through the security check. The screener saw it and asked to have her purse checked, and then he took it out and asked why the unopened bottle of Orange Juice was there. Seeing the concern on his face I shouted, “I’m a Diabetic. My sister was holding some of my supplies, the rest of it is ALL RIGHT HERE” … I picked up the big bag full of diabetic supplies as proof that I was telling the truth. Then I added, “I need that juice! I’ve been running low this morning!!!” I waited for a response, but Thomas, the “Head” TSA agent just stared at me; I could only hope he understood.

Thomas picked up the bottle of orange juice (the good kind too!) and read the label, it turned out he was looking to see how many ounces it held. “16 ounces….” He said to himself, but loud enough to be certain I heard him. Thomas slowly looked at me and asked for my ticket. He scrutinized my boarding pass and questioned why I needed so many ounces of juice if I was only going from Washington, D.C. to Charlotte, North Carolina…he said most people don’t need so much juice to go such a short distance! I had to wonder what was he basing that uninformed statement on?

In his ignorance and lack of diabetes knowledge and its management, Thomas was making a decision that could potentially be life threatening for me. Thomas believed that he could decide how much juice I would need based upon the distance I was traveling, not on my blood sugar level, the potential for insulin shock, or previous exercise, just to mention a few diabetic hazards that might cause someone to need more juice than normal.

My concern is that too many TSA agents are terribly uninformed, and on a daily basis make critical decisions regarding the health of diabetics and what they do or don’t need to bring on board a plane. I’m sure this is not intentional, but it is extremely frightening. Although there are a few knowledgeable, conscientious and well intentioned TSA Agents, they are far too few, and unfortunately, the majority of agents need to be better educated; Although we as diabetic citizens are equally concerned about terrorism and appreciate the difficulty of their job, we are equally as concerned about the health of all Americans, especially Diabetics who may not be allowed to travel with items they need… (For those of you who believe that you can just get something to drink like juice on a plane, think again. On two occasions, due to turbulence, I was unable to reach my diabetic supplies in the bin above my head, nor would the airline hostesses able to leave their seats to get what I needed. As my blood sugar continued to plummet, my sister remembered she had a few glucose tablets left in her purse. It was not enough to resolve the problem, but luckily for me, the plane was able to land and I was able to get to my juice. Ever since then, I carry what i need literally on me…or we carry it in one of our purses. Diabetic Supplies must be within arms length). 
Maybe it is time for the TSA to add medical personnel to its screening process at every airport in the country. These ongoing encounters diabetics face must be rectified.

For the record, every diabetic’s needs are different and every diabetic’s blood sugar fluctuates. My mom, my sister and I stood our ground, determined to bring on board what I needed to maintain a healthy blood sugar level, and he finally permitted me to travel with the juice…After repeatedly looking me up and down, Thomas, in a somewhat condescending voice said, “Las Vegas?…..16 ounces should be enough to get you there.” For the record Thomas, my blood sugar dropped again and I drank the entire 16 ounces on the first leg of my return trip to Las Vegas.

Chidlia, 3/28/08
Hi Mollie Really nice to see this post. Here in India we’ve started a website for diabetic children and their parents. Who better to critique it and help us out than you. Do visit www. chidia.com and mail us about it. Thank you!

Donna, 11/22/07 at 1:02AM
You did a great job standing your ground and it was a good thing, too, huh? I understand the whole security thing. But when I person is going to Washington DC to receive an award for being a caring person & they get put through the run-around like you were, that’s just wrong.
You’re right; it’s time for some education for these people. You shouldn’t have to worry about harming your health when traveling like this. Hopefully, things will get better. I’m glad you made it through all of it okay 

Cody, 11/22/07 at 3:58 am
Sorry to hear about your trouble with the TSA. I always carry a doctor’s statement with me saying it is medically necessary for me to have food, juice, gel etc with me at times. I show it to TSA before I even go through the medical detector and xray machne and have never had any problem getting through. I have had on flight attendant who actually moved my bag for me after I placed it above me and I was also on crutches at the time and she moved it half way down the airplane and refused to move it back up for me. Thankfully my row mate was a Doctor and understood the necessity for me to have it and when and got it for me and refused to let the flight attendant take it back.

Sarah, 11/22/07 at 8:57 PM
It is actually very easy to avoid this kind of problem. Take a small bottle of juice to the airport and dump it before security if you haven’t needed it. Also carry glucose tabs that they won’t question. Buy more juice, if that is what you want to have available to you on the aircraft, after the security checkpoint.

I agree that we should be able to carry the stuff we want. But it is easier to play by the rules and prevent the TSA agents asking questions in the first place though.

Jayen, 12/8/07 at 12:44 pm
Hi Mollie. I live in the DC area and have a terrible time each time I have to fly out. Once all the TSA workers were yelling across the area to each other about me having too much food/drink along and what should they do with me. Like with you, they said I didn’t need that much for the distance. Of course, about 100 people were witnessing the problem. Actually, I can’t even go stand in line at a restaurant to wait and buy juice & food if I hit a low on the other side of security; ..not to mention the PRICE of food and juice once you go past security ~ ugh. I’m sorry for what you went through ~ that has happened to me here in DC too many times. I would be happy to help you with this effort to educate TSAs. Thank you SO MUCH for writing about it.

bettercell, 12/11/07 at 4:44pm
What a SCHMUCK this Thomas is. Probably a liitle ego that wants to feel important by wearing a TSA uniform.
A just reward for this SCHMUCK would be a diagnosis of T1DM w/recurring bouts of Hypoglycemia.