um... how tall are you?
Sounds like you’d be better off installing a return vent in that room, new construction now requires a return vent in every room.
If the room has a low ceiling them I would NOT install a Ceoling Fan in it.
I recommend a Solar powered attic fan from Lowe’s (not Home Depot, they are very anticonservative).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c7bzeUmqcc
put some small wall mount fans in the corners
My lighting installer friend put a fan in my living room, where there was no wiring for a ceiling fixture. He ran the wiring from where the switch for the electrical outlet was, and then installed a new switchplate for the fan and the light fixture on it. He put one hole in the ceiling where the fan is, and a second at the corner where he did something with the wires.
I can say what it would cost to have someone do it, because this was an exhange-of-favors, but it took him only a couple of hours, after shopping for the fan with my son, and he also replaced the fixture over the front door!
Which way do the rafters run?
Consider one or two fan/vent setups in upper corners of outside walls? Similar to bathroom vent fans, but quieter and more powerful?
If there is an outlet in the room, you can get a ceiling fan with a cord and hook the cord across the ceiling to the edge of wall/ceiling above the outlet and let the cord drop down to plug into the wall. No need for wiring, just installation of the fan.
Can’t help with the height issue.
Did this in a rental unit. Buy something called a “fish tape.” It’s a spring on a roll. This presumes there’s someplace you can pick up power that’s along the rafter run as opposed to against it. Meaning you have a clear shot to the power. You stuff the fish tape through the ceiling to the power. Then, you attach the new wire you want to run to the fish tape and pull it through. You then hook it to power. The fan must be installed onto a rafter or between two rafters, so bust out the ceiling and just repair it. Forget popcorn, scrape it all off and apply texturing.
Alternatively, just put a fan in the door. Or, you might install one over the door by knocking a hole in the wall. Don’t be afraid of wall board repairs. You can probably youtube anything you want to do. Whatever you do, don’t type in “skanky stewardesses, wiring.”
Assuming it would pass muster with the latter AND assuming your competence in installing and finishing off the junction box and mounting setup for the fan,
flex conduit would be an option to ease the installation, as it could be fished to your ceiling opening and allowed to lay loose across the joists in the attic.
Here’s a thought
Paint a circuit! Bare Paint is a multipurpose electrically conductive material perfect for all of your DIY projects. Yup, that means you can paint circuits on walls, floors, tables, shirts, anything (except skin)! A big tub of paint, for you to make any project you can imagine.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/eb92/
Surface mount conduit like Wiremold is easy to install.