I was wondering the same thing on a recent flight. Saw a woman 6'+ tall and skinny as a rail, get on with a preboard pass. She looked normal to me. I ended up sitting in the first row with her and figured she needed the extra first row leg space. I mentioned that I had metal in my back and she then showed me copies of an X-ray she keeps on her. She had 3 fused vertebre just below her skull, a pin in her shoulder, a hip replacement and rods the entire length of her spine. Since my rods are only about 12" I joked that she had me beat. She said her surgeries were from playing college basketball and the latest surgery was last year. Moral... don't judge a book by it's cover 😉
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