Quote from: foreign on October 18, 2020, 08:26:20 AMwhat about brain damage?? Is that possibility?
Any risk on cardiac arrest brings the risk of brain damage, if revived . Per se, the PE does not create brain damage unless you have a certain type of heart defect, but we are going too far. take home message is: if you fly, take a blood thinner for the flight.
I took a 2 hour flight every 2 weeks and for a period every week without any problems. The first flight was straight after being discharged from hospital - 6 days after surgery. Just ask for the mobility service which will ensure you get a wheelchair to help board and unboard the flight and whizz through security. Most of my flights included a return flight the same day - I flew for checks with the surgeon. Taking the ERC with you is a real pain and sometimes refused which is one of the reasons why I did day returns. For the first few flights I took anticoagulant injections before flights.
Quote from: Ascending on October 18, 2020, 04:32:53 PMI took a 2 hour flight every 2 weeks and for a period every week without any problems. The first flight was straight after being discharged from hospital - 6 days after surgery. Just ask for the mobility service which will ensure you get a wheelchair to help board and unboard the flight and whizz through security. Most of my flights included a return flight the same day - I flew for checks with the surgeon. Taking the ERC with you is a real pain and sometimes refused which is one of the reasons why I did day returns. For the first few flights I took anticoagulant injections before flights.
Till when were you advised to take the injections? Were you on oral blood thinners otherwise?
Was the ERC refused due to security reasons?
Quote from: GenralizedAnxietyDisorder on October 18, 2020, 07:32:12 PMTill when were you advised to take the injections? Were you on oral blood thinners otherwise?
Was the ERC refused due to security reasons?
I was advised to take the injections every day for the first 3 weeks. After that I only took it if I was flying.
The ERC is tricky to get on the plane for safety reasons. You need a letter from your doctor as well as the safety certificate from Nuvasive and the airline may choose to contact Nuvasive if they feel the device poses any risk. I was refused on one flight because the Captain could not be certain that the device was dangerous for that particular aircraft which was a smaller jet with a smaller cargo. In fact the the device was taken off after I had boarded and I had to continue my flight without it - it was stored by the airline at the airport for me to collect upon my return. In any case the device is heavy so you really don't want to be traveling with it having two broken legs.
Quote from: Ascending on October 18, 2020, 09:04:37 PMI was advised to take the injections every day for the first 3 weeks. After that I only took it if I was flying.
The ERC is tricky to get on the plane for safety reasons. You need a letter from your doctor as well as the safety certificate from Nuvasive and the airline may choose to contact Nuvasive if they feel the device poses any risk. I was refused on one flight because the Captain could not be certain that the device was dangerous for that particular aircraft which was a smaller jet with a smaller cargo. In fact the the device was taken off after I had boarded and I had to continue my flight without it - it was stored by the airline at the airport for me to collect upon my return. In any case the device is heavy so you really don't want to be traveling with it having two broken legs.
That's good to know. I assumed that checking the ERC would be a breeze, but I guess maybe not. Did you do the wheelchair service even after being able to walk with a walker or cane? I guess I could see how it would be way easier than struggling to walk across the airport. Also, did you buy first class or at least economy plus seats for the extra legroom? I can't imagine trying to stretch your legs in economy.
Quote from: BelowTheMean on October 19, 2020, 01:00:30 AMThat's good to know. I assumed that checking the ERC would be a breeze, but I guess maybe not. Did you do the wheelchair service even after being able to walk with a walker or cane? I guess I could see how it would be way easier than struggling to walk across the airport. Also, did you buy first class or at least economy plus seats for the extra legroom? I can't imagine trying to stretch your legs in economy.
Yes I used the wheelchair service until I was crutches free. I didn't use a walking stick. It was way to convenient to be whizzed through the process of getting on board - better than the service you get for 1st class. But I went economy every time except once when I went business class. It made no difference because the flights were so short length. Walking around the airport to get to the mobility service was sometimes tough - not because of the effort of moving broken legs but the expression of pity on people's faces when they look at you. For some reason it really made me very sad. Interestingly I found women to be really helpful when you are trying to get through hard to open doors etc - other men don't help much at all.
Quote from: Ascending on October 19, 2020, 09:51:21 AMYes I used the wheelchair service until I was crutches free. I didn't use a walking stick. It was way to convenient to be whizzed through the process of getting on board - better than the service you get for 1st class. But I went economy every time except once when I went business class. It made no difference because the flights were so short length. Walking around the airport to get to the mobility service was sometimes tough - not because of the effort of moving broken legs but the expression of pity on people's faces when they look at you. For some reason it really made me very sad. Interestingly I found women to be really helpful when you are trying to get through hard to open doors etc - other men don't help much at all.
All very interesting. My flights will be 3.5 hours long, so I'll probably do Economy Plus. While I'm not very tall, I still think it would be much easier to stretch and/or stand up if I'm not cramped in an Economy seat. On the other hand, depending on the flight, if I sit in the back I might get a whole row to myself and I can just raise the arm lifts and sit sideways with my legs straight when I need to stretch.
What do you think about crutches vs cane? I already bought a cane but I'm not sure when I'm going to use it. Did you walk around in the airport with a walker at all? Looks like I'm going to have to do some research on mobility services at the airport ahead of time. Thanks for all your help!
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