First air travel as a cyborg: Neck brace and I find common ground

With my doctor's okay, I took a short flight to see my parents today. Although I was convinced I had some quality, intimate time with the TSA in store, it was actually not bad. I took off my neck brace to go through and told the attendant I had a metal plate in my neck. He said if I went through the Xray with it, that would guarantee me a secondary screening. Taking the hint, I opted for the full-body scanner and came through without any further ado.

Once I got on board, the scooped out husk of the seat was even more uncomfortable than I remembered. Because I am so short, the headrest is at just the wrong angle and forces my head to bend at a neck brace-unfriendly angle.  The only positive thing I can say about flying while wearing a cervical collar is that if you fall asleep, it keeps your head from falling over and waking you up. 

Maybe it was the travel or possibly all the laundry I did yesterday, but I'm having moderate pain today between my shoulder blades.  No position seems comfortable somehow, ugh.  This feels like a step back.  I did think to bring my pain meds and my special pillow (nerd alert) so hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.