Posted on 11/07/2013 8:39:43 PM PST by grundle
Chicago (AFP) - A French family who came to the United States for medical treatment said they were stranded in Chicago after British Airways determined their son was too fat to fly.
Kevin Chenais, 22, spent a year and a half at the Mayo Clinic for treatment of a hormone disorder which led him to weigh 500 pounds.
His mother was near tears as she described the family’s problems to the local CBS affiliate.
"We blame British Airways because now they just leave us, and they brought us here,” Christina Chenais told the station.
"If they could bring him here with that problem in economy, there was a way to take him back by economy but just get him back home for his medical treatments to continue."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
US regs may be different which would explain why the same airline was able to bring him from France but can’t take him back.
500 lbs is a very big boy.
If there are 2 empty seats he could “spill” over into, I could see him being flown to where he needs to go.
But, on a full aircraft - his rights to travel should not impinge upon the rights of his fellow travellers from being able to accommodate his girth invading their very limited seat space.
“Kevin Chenais requires round-the-clock oxygen and medical attention.”
I get the impression that this has more to do with his health than his weight....though they are, of course, related.
Then the only way he should be flown home is in an Air ambulance, and those ain’t cheap. I have special travel insurance that provides that service for my family just for that reason.
The problem is he had to be on oxygen 24 yrs. a day. Too many medical problems could happen to him flying six to eight hours. He likely is in bed most of the time. I don’t blame the airlines for not transporting him.
No! Don’t you see?!? His MOTHER is now an expert on all matters medical to aviation!! Because she has a son who is sick and they are all victims! This is the way now!
/sarc
Couldn’t they finish their route in a horse trailer?
I think it was for specialized health care. People in France do not have 500 pound revolting type of people (this guy is a rarity). America deals with these types daily in fact just reelected one in New Jersey. That is why he came to America. Nothing about Health Care but a tuba lard type of repulsive guy who could not get help in France because they don't specialize in that type of medical problem like we do a lot.
They really need to put him on a cruise ship....only problem is when he arrives in France, he may be 600 pounds. I could imagine that they would have to charge him extra just for the food.
“Too fat too fly” is just a misleading headline then. More like “too sick too fly”, which isn’t really that uncommon.
It’s a hormonal disorder, you nincompoop.
That would be a cargo ship, probably. It costs several $K, but overall it's not that far away from an airplane ticket. The catch is that the trip takes weeks, and the patient may need medical attention all the time. If anything happens, the nearest hospital will be far away.
I'm not familiar with such medical problems, but can't they just reduce the intake of nutrition? Will the patient starve while remaining fat?
International medical transport is available. Not cheap, though.
Well, he just spent A YEAR AND A HALF being treated at the Mayo Clinic. I cannot even begin to fathom how much that would cost.
Did they run up against an insurance limit, and left no money for specialized transportation? I would love to know the actual story here...this doesn’t tell us.
They could put him on a B-52. When is the next run on France?
C-5A, C-17. C124. C130. We once had a great airlift capability.
True. Also occurs to me that, given the guy’s condition, maybe he’s better off in the USA until he’s a lot healthier.
You beat me to it, but this is exactly the first thing that popped into my mind when I read that headline. How many Americans travel to France for healthcare?
Given your food culture, he might end up fatter!.
So British Airways is the only option to leave the US?
Hey, try one of those African of ex-USSR airlines, they won’t care.
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