thedailywhat:

This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: Michelle Dunaj, who is dying of leukemia, was Hawaii-bound for one of the last trips of her life. But the TSA in Seattle made it memorable for a different reason:

She called Alaska Airlines ahead of time to request a wheelchair and to ask how her medicines should be separated for the security line. 

“I did everything they asked me to do, so I didn’t think it would be an issue,” she said. 

But Dunaj says nothing went right at the security checkpoint. A machine couldn’t get a reading on her saline bags, so a TSA agent forced one open, contaminating the fluid she needs to survive. She says agents also made her lift up her shirt and pull back the bandages holding feeding tubes in place. Dunaj needs those tubes because of organ failure. With other passengers staring, Dunaj says she asked for privacy and was turned down. 

“They just said that it was fine; the location we were at was fine,” she said.

TSA is responding to a request to look into the incident.

[thanks, bob!]

Why are people so terrible? ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY who failed to teach those security guards the proper way(s) to treat people with understanding, how it’s among their responsibilities to make them feel safe and comfortable, and HOW IT’S NOT OK TO TREAT THEM AS POTENTIAL CRIMINALS AND EMBARRASS THEM IN PUBLIC, EVEN TO THE POINT OF IGNORANTLY DENYING THEM THEIR PRIVACY REQUEST IS RESPONSIBLE HERE.

The damage they caused to this lady probably cannot be compensated, since that was supposed to be one of her last trips… and they turned it into such a nightmare. The people responsible for this -call it anything you like; miscommunication among the staff, misunderstanding, mistake, anything- should publicly apologize and give their resignations.