Meet The 17-Year-Old Flight Attendant Who Has Down SyndromeMeet The 17-Year-Old Flight Attendant Who Has Down Syndrome

Shantell Pooser is 17, and at that age most American teens are usually thinking of prom and high-school peer groups. But Shantell is making history, becoming American Airlines’ first honorary flight attendant with Down Syndrome.

The airline honoured her with her “wings” on her 17th birthday, an age doctors  didn’t believe she would live till. Shantell also has a rare degenerative airway condition that hinders her breathing. The disease is terminal.

Giving her wings

Shantell developed a love for flying when she would fly from her home in South Carolina to Ohio to receive medical treatment. She has undergone over 30 surgeries that have left her family in debt. 

It was on one of those flights that Shantell’s mother Deanna Miller-Berry noticed that her daughter was paying rapt attention to the flight attendant’s instructions and started imitating them. After the flight, Shantell got a tour of the cockpit and met the pilot which led to her obsession with planes.

Birthday plans 

Four months ahead of Shantell’s birthday, her mum decided to reach out to American Airlines to ask for some lanyards to create some DIY projects for the airline-themed party she was planning on throwing. The airline responded saying they would love to host Shantell and her friends, giving them access to a CRJ-900 plane for the birthday party. Shantelle’s friends from her special needs school sat in first class and also received a visit from South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin and a medallion to her city.

Flight attendant duties

So far Shantelle has flown over 30 flights as a flight attendant, but there are certain restrictions when it comes to doing all the duties. “She’s so excited that she doesn’t realize she has to give the passengers a choice,” says Deanna. Instead Shantelle offers passengers what she thinks is best. “The passengers just laugh along with her and eat what she gives them,” she adds.

Aside from fulfilling her wish of being a flight attendant, she started ticking off things from her bucket list which included learning to ride a bike, riding a motorcycle, walking the stage at graduation, and getting a professional haircut at a salon. She also got a chance to meet Michelle Obama. 

Seriously inspiring stuff!

Article Credit:Idiva