Airplane Travel with NxStage

[Headbandgrrl]

Ah! Dori, you were so right about the misinformation. I tried most of the morning to connect with someone at the airline to answer questions regarding a refund of the excess baggage/weight charges. I finally ended up having a nice chat with a DOT representative who assisted me in finding the voicemail for CR Officer. We will see if I ever receive an answer

We have a long way to go, when it comes to accessibility. I hate to feel like I am losing the good fight, but if we don’t speak up, change cannot happen!

I will be very interested to read the experiences of other NxStage users. I myself would like to go to Florida next! :lol:

@Dori_Schatell

I’m not at all surprised that you ran into a lot of misinformation from the counterstaff, Headbandgirl–I was on the phone with some of the airlines for 39 minutes before they could hunt me down an answer, and they were still often wrong! This just isn’t something most of them deal with every day.

Writing a letter to the airlines is a good idea, and so is filing a complaint. Now that you’ve done it one, it will be easier to fly in the future because you’ll know what to expect.

[Headbandgrrl]

Sorry I haven’t posted the pictures yet. I traveled to Upstate NY to see my family, and then it was back to work. I was so happy to not have to travel over 60 miles to get to the dialysis center up there. Usually, I have a really hard time finding a dialysis center because they are filled to the limit.

My dad was real happy with not having to wake up at 5am to take me, wait 4 hours, and then drive back.

I wanted to at least give everyone an update on my airplane travel. The United CRO was extremely helpful once I was able to find the correct office. I finally fully bypassed the Customer Service number, and went directly to the corporate offices.

The CRO refunded the overweight and baggage charges, but did state that next time I should not tape up the box before checking. That way, the agent can SEE what is in the box, interestingly she also emailed me another copy of the DOT CFR.

As for the hotel charge of $100 for the therapy fluid handling. There was no refund. My lesson learned is to call the hotel ahead of time, tell them exactly how heavy and many the boxes are and receive a fee estimate.

At some point, I will transfer the pictures from my phone to email/memory card and upload to the internet.

@Dori_Schatell

I’m not at all surprised that you ran into a lot of misinformation from the counterstaff, Headbandgirl–I was on the phone with some of the airlines for 39 minutes before they could hunt me down an answer, and they were still often wrong! This just isn’t something most of them deal with every day.

Writing a letter to the airlines is a good idea, and so is filing a complaint. Now that you’ve done it one, it will be easier to fly in the future because you’ll know what to expect.

[Dori_Schatell]

Hi y’all,

Cathy just posted in a new thread that NxStage has travel cases available for its machine, and I wanted to be sure to keep all the travel info together. So, here is that link on the NxStage website: http://nxstage.com/chronic_renal_care/products/travel.cfm.

Also, the new terrorist threat makes it very unlikely (most likely impossible) that you will be able to carry any dialysate fluid–PD or HD–on board a flight. So, you’d definitely have to plan on any bags of fluid going as checked luggage, in their original boxes.

[Gus]

@Dori_Schatell

Hi y’all,

Cathy just posted in a new thread that NxStage has travel cases available for its machine, and I wanted to be sure to keep all the travel info together. So, here is that link on the NxStage website: Traveling with the NxStage systems | NxStage Medical Inc..

Also, NxStage has sent kits to clinics with literature on guidelines/info for traveling with NxStage System One, this was just confirmed by a letter sent to use from them.

Also, the new terrorist threat makes it very unlikely (most likely impossible) that you will be able to carry any dialysate fluid–PD or HD–on board a flight. So, you’d definitely have to plan on any bags of fluid going as checked luggage, in their original boxes.

Now that’s a BIG hurdle…

[Beth_Witten_MSW_ACSW]

It is definitely inconvenient. Today I heard they’ve loosened the restriction to 4 ounces of liquid nonprescription medicines and 8 ounces of liquid or gel for diabetics. I suspect it’s best to have supplies sent to your destination like PD patients do.