April at the airport

A not so funny thing happened to me at the airport last weekend...

As some of you may know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 and underwent a SMX (single mastectomy). That means I still have one breast and usually wear a bra. Instead of a silicone or foam "foob" I stuff the flat side with a sock. Yes, it's actually a sock😂 I have a small bra push-up insert that I wrapped up in a soft slipper sock. It's lightweight and fills in my bra just enough to make me feel comfortable in public.

Back to my airport story. I put my carry-on and shoes on the ramp for x-ray, and stepped into the full-body scanner. If you've flown in the last several years you know the drill: legs spread apart so your feet are on the painted outlines and arms raised above your head. As I stepped out of the machine, a female TSA agent stopped me and told me to step to the side. Turns out, the scanner detected my "sock!"

The agent was quite nice and explained to me that the scanner had detected something in my left breast area. I had to stand on a pad with my legs spread and arms up, again. I was facing a screen and saw figure of a body. Sure enough, there was a bright red circle on the breast of the figure. 

I smiled and pulled the top of my t-shirt out, saying, "Oh, I had a mastectomy and it's my sock." Her face turned as red as the spot on the scanner. She let me know that I was not required to tell or show her, but she would have to feel around the edges of my bra. We both had a chuckle, and after the 5-second search, she sent me on my way with a suggestion to through my sock in my bag on the return flight. I took her advice.