Towing extra carry-on luggage through the airport sometimes earns us side-eye from other travelers. To set expectations and (hopefully) encourage a little grace, I attach a custom webbing strap to our Hill-Rom vest machine that reads, “Medical Equipment.”

The vest almost always requires additional screening by TSA—and I totally understand—but this strap helps signal that we’re traveling with someone who has medical needs. I use it on our vest machine, but I imagine it could be helpful for other medical devices as well.

Once, I overheard two TSA agents discussing our vest machine. One asked, “What is that?” and the other replied, “Not sure, but it’s obviously medical equipment.” They let us pass through without additional screening. That was the day all the planets were in alignment—and the only time we weren’t screened—but hey, it can’t hurt!