M.E and Flying/Holidaying

zzzLazyDaisy

Once the flights are booked, you can contact the airline direct and ask for wheelchair assistance. Tell them you cannot walk distances or manage steps.

This service is free. They will collect you from the airport lounge, and take you to the gate, you will board first, and they will use a lift to get you into the plane. Please do not be afraid to ask for this service, it is not just for people who can't walk at all, but for people like you, who will suffer payback. The distances at the international airports can be massive - it can be over a mile from check in to the boarding gate, and this can involve a lot of queuing.

Also, if you can afford it, it is worth checking into the VIP lounge. The cost is usually around £18 a person, but sometimes you can find discount codes. The VIP lounge is quieter and less stress, and serves snacks and beverages, so you can get back most of the cost in savings on airport prices for coffee and snacks.

Just remember to tell the assistance people that you will be in the VIP lounge and they will usually come and get you from there.

HTH

Daisy

sunnyone

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

You're not alone in that :rotfl: I locked myself in a cubicle in a cinema when I was about 6, couldn't get out, panicked, shrieked for my Mum ... I don't suffer claustrophobia, but I am still very nervous when using strange toilets for the first time - I will stand there and lock/unlock/relock the door a few times to ensure it's working smoothly before settling down to do whatever :rotfl:

My aunt makes me sit outside the loo because shes scared of locking the door after she got lost as a child, I get people asking me if Im alright all the time when they see a woman in a wheelchair "blocking" the disabled loo door (my aunt has heart disease and walks with sticks so she needs the disabled loo to) it is 60 years since she got lost btw.

LadyMorticia

Torry_Quine wrote: »

One thing i would add is make sure that you get insurance and tell them of your health issues, yes it will bump the price up but the consequence of not telling could be very expensive.

Will do. Thanks.

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

You're not alone in that :rotfl: I locked myself in a cubicle in a cinema when I was about 6, couldn't get out, panicked, shrieked for my Mum ... I don't suffer claustrophobia, but I am still very nervous when using strange toilets for the first time - I will stand there and lock/unlock/relock the door a few times to ensure it's working smoothly before settling down to do whatever :rotfl:

Eeeek! :eek: I always do the locking and unlocking thing, just to make sure.:rotfl:

GlasweJen wrote: »

I hate plane toilets, can you get your other half to stand outside the door while you go? That always helped me when flying.

Also some airlines have a screen you can flick over to that shows you how far the plane has come and how much further you have to go, your speed, height and the weather at your desitination. Makes long haul feel less long when you can see the plane is almost there.

I didn't think of getting OH to stand outside. I think that would definitely make me feel more at ease. He seems to have a calming effect on me.:rotfl:

I didn't know about the screen. I think I'd find that incredibly useful and I'd probably keep checking it because I like all things gadgety.:p

LadyMorticia

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Once the flights are booked, you can contact the airline direct and ask for wheelchair assistance. Tell them you cannot walk distances or manage steps.

This service is free. They will collect you from the airport lounge, and take you to the gate, you will board first, and they will use a lift to get you into the plane. Please do not be afraid to ask for this service, it is not just for people who can't walk at all, but for people like you, who will suffer payback. The distances at the international airports can be massive - it can be over a mile from check in to the boarding gate, and this can involve a lot of queuing.

Also, if you can afford it, it is worth checking into the VIP lounge. The cost is usually around £18 a person, but sometimes you can find discount codes. The VIP lounge is quieter and less stress, and serves snacks and beverages, so you can get back most of the cost in savings on airport prices for coffee and snacks.

Just remember to tell the assistance people that you will be in the VIP lounge and they will usually come and get you from there.

HTH

Daisy

Heya Daisy.:wave:

I never thought about the wheelchair thing. I guess I might feel like a bit of a fraud though. MIL has had a hip replacement and has arthritis so can't walk very fast/long distances so I guess I feel she is more deserving of a wheelchair than me, whose legs do work (with some pain) but walking just leaves me exhausted?
Asking for help is my biggest downfall.:o I'll always wait until I'm really ill before asking for help. Maybe if I asked as I needed it then I wouldn't get so ill? Who knows.

I always worry about what my in-laws think. We live with them but they don't really understand how my M.E affects me. To them they just think it's a normal sort of tiredness and getting up and out will make it go away. I wish it would but it's not like that at all.

I'll have a talk to my OH about a wheelchair anyway. I know he said that if I need one when we're in Florida that he'd be happy to push me etc. I just worry what the inlaws will think. =/
Maybe I should stop worrying what other people think of me? =/
I already walk with a stick for added support and even that makes me nervous. =/

I like the sound of the VIP lounge though. Sounds alot more relaxing which is just what I need. I think it's the little things that can make a huge difference sometimes.

Sorry for the massive reply. I think I'm just typing my thoughts now.:o

zzzLazyDaisy

Columbus are also very good for pre-existing conditions. You can do it all on-line and the documents are e-mailed to you straight away. I've never had to make a claim though, so I can't comment on that.

zzzLazyDaisy

LadyMorticia wrote: »

Asking for help is my biggest downfall.:o I'll always wait until I'm really ill before asking for help. Maybe if I asked as I needed it then I wouldn't get so ill? Who knows.

Please don't under-estimate how much travelling may take it out of you. I suggest that you do everything you can to make it easier for yourself. As far as feeling like a fraud is concerned - don't. The airlines are used to providing assistance for all sorts of people, including people with hidden disabilities and people recovering from illnesses who are too weak to walk distances.

Also, this might be a good time to encourage MiL to have assistance?

I agree, the first time I arranged assistance at the airport, I felt really embarrassed, but the previous time I had flown, I had struggled to appear 'normal' and arrived at the other end on the verge of collapse - that was Mcr to Gatwick! It is also a good idea to take a stick as it gives the airline staff a visual clue that you have mobility problems. Remember, you are keeping someone in a job :-)

But above all, don't let the travel put you off going. You may find the warm dry climate in Florida has a beneficial effect on your ME. Also the body makes vitamin D from sunshine and that is much more difficult to achieve in UK. Vit D deficiency has similar symptoms to ME, so it is worth 'topping up' your vit D just to be on the side of caution.

Remember also, that if you accept help, and pace yourself as much as possible, you will minimise payback, and that can only be a good thing - for you and for your travelling companions.

Above all - have a wonderful time :-)

coffeeandfags

Just my tuppence worth. OP have you been to Florida before? We go quite a lot, and i find the weather there fantastic for my pain! I can go swimming and walk forever over there totally pain free :T
I hope you have a fantastic trip, and if your body reacts to the hot, humid weather like mine, then i can see this being your first trip of many ....

LadyMorticia

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Please don't under-estimate how much travelling may take it out of you. I suggest that you do everything you can to make it easier for yourself. As far as feeling like a fraud is concerned - don't. The airlines are used to providing assistance for all sorts of people, including people with hidden disabilities and people recovering from illnesses who are too weak to walk distances.

Thank you. I guess I never saw it like that.

Also, this might be a good time to encourage MiL to have assistance?

I think that she'll go for the assistance anyway. That's what she did when her and FIL went to Florida last month.

I agree, the first time I arranged assistance at the airport, I felt really embarrassed, but the previous time I had flown, I had struggled to appear 'normal' and arrived at the other end on the verge of collapse - that was Mcr to Gatwick! It is also a good idea to take a stick as it gives the airline staff a visual clue that you have mobility problems. Remember, you are keeping someone in a job :-)

I use a stick so will take that. I'm not sure how to travel with it though? I'm not sure if it'll be seen as a weapon? (Yes, I really do worry about everything lol).
I'm on the verge of collapse by just walking sometimes.

But above all, don't let the travel put you off going. You may find the warm dry climate in Florida has a beneficial effect on your ME. Also the body makes vitamin D from sunshine and that is much more difficult to achieve in UK. Vit D deficiency has similar symptoms to ME, so it is worth 'topping up' your vit D just to be on the side of caution.

I never even thought about the Vitamin D thing.:o

Remember also, that if you accept help, and pace yourself as much as possible, you will minimise payback, and that can only be a good thing - for you and for your travelling companions.

Above all - have a wonderful time :-)

Thank you for all of the advice.

LadyMorticia

coffeeandfags wrote: »

Just my tuppence worth. OP have you been to Florida before? We go quite a lot, and i find the weather there fantastic for my pain! I can go swimming and walk forever over there totally pain free :T
I hope you have a fantastic trip, and if your body reacts to the hot, humid weather like mine, then i can see this being your first trip of many ....

Nope, never been before.:o
I've only been abroad 3 times - twice to Disneyland Paris in my teens and to Tenerife for OH and I's honeymoon.:o

I'm hoping that the heat helps but I'm sensitive to the heat and the sun too so need to make sure that I try and take care of that.:p

ivyleaf

I agree with Lazydaisy, definitely arrange for wheelchair assistance at the airports. I have M.E. too and the assistance is a huge help, I'd be exhausted by the time I reached the Departure Lounge (IF I reached the Departure Lounge) without it. Check with the airline, as unless you are receiving DLA they may ask for a letter from your GP to confirm that you have mobility problems.

I also find that being in a warm sunny climate really helps

Have a wonderful time!