Flying with a Broken Wing

by Caroline M. Jackson

“I’m afraid it’s a fracture with sprained ligaments” said the emergency physician brandishing my X-ray report. “But I’m traveling to Switzerland next month” I appealed to him with my best bloodhound eyes. “See your family physician” suggested the white coated doctor, passing on to the next broken-winged patient. Barely able to stand, never mind walk, my heart sank. This was every travel writer’s nightmare. Travel plans dashed and assignments unfulfilled.

Through my sea of pain, I looked down at the side of my ankle which was nearly the size of a tennis ball. Fleetingly, I pondered activating my travel cancellation insurance but I had more than myself to consider. After my sojourn in Switzerland I was flying on to Scotland to be part of a family reunion.

Two weeks later and now able to hobble like Long John Silver, I sat opposite my family doctor who looked with concern at my throbbing ankle which, unless iced, was still hot enough to fry an egg on. “You’ll need to use the RICE principle: rest, ice, compression and elevation.” The ‘rest’ part would be easy since I would be sitting in an airline seat for nearly ten hours. Ice cubes could be obtained on board and would have to substitute for a cold gel pack, a forbidden item in carry-on luggage. Compression was manageable as I would encase my ankle tightly in my 25-year-old leather hiking boots. Elevation would be a challenge. Having covered all the bases, my doctor realized nothing was going to deter me from setting off on this trip. She shook her head and reminded me that since I had only two weeks to get the show on the road, I should see a physiotherapist as soon as possible.

After being couriered home by car, my next step was to phone British Airways and ask them what they did with limping passengers flying between Vancouver and London. I was advised that I would need a wheelchair especially for transiting through London Heathrow Airport en route to Zurich. After discussion, and especially as I would not be wearing my cumbersome leg cast, it was suggested that I bring a medical letter should I require documented proof of my injury. My initial idea of booking a left-hand aisle seat for maximum leg space was deemed unwise. After all, what would happen if an errant food trolley or a passenger inadvertently bumped against my tender tootsie? The thought didn’t bear thinking about.

For the best seating arrangement, I accessed the airline’s Manage My Booking website 24 hours before departure. I had anticipated reserving a spacious bulkhead seat but after studying a diagram of the plane, I soon realized that an injured passenger could not sit beside an exit as this could impede evacuation during an emergency landing.

On D-day, after check-in, I was informed that wheelchairs were scarce on our flight as seventeen passengers had requested wheelchair assistance. Now somewhat mobile, however, I managed to limp through security. The only minor hitch was that unknown to me, my antiquated hiking boots had a steel shaft embedded within their soles, thus the metal set off all the bells and whistles. Trying to untie and step out of my boots without being able to bear weight on one leg turned me into a drunken flamingo and about the same color. We then proceeded to the seating area where I met up with other died-in-the-wool characters that were determined to travel regardless of their infirmities. The charming gentleman next to me had MS and was returning home to England with his wife after bidding a final farewell to his Canadian family. His main concern was to get his portable wheelchair unassembled prior to boarding the plane. Minutes later, a beeping ‘people transporter’ hove into view and my husband and I were whisked to our boarding gate with the speed of a skilled racing driver.

Once airborne, I kept my ankle cool by stuffing my airline socks with ice cubes which I stored in a Ziploc bag. The occasional puddles on the floor fortunately evaporated quickly into the dry atmosphere. On landing at Heathrow, a high volume of airline traffic meant our plane had to park on the tarmac with passengers being transported by bus to the terminal. Since I was unable to walk down stairs, I had to wait until a mobile lift appeared at one of the exits.

My fellow traveling companion at this point was a stalwart octogenarian lady with two canes who was traveling from the northern British Columbia town of Lillooet to Lapland. On reaching the terminal I was ushered into a wheelchair by a Nepalese ground worker who was most sympathetic about the broken ankle scenario. He too had recently broken his leg and suffered severe frostbite during a rescue on Mount Everest. Now fully recovered, he was helping what I dubbed ‘the wheelchair brigade.’ Fast-tracking through the long line-up at Passport Control, he regaled me with tales of unique characters. One lady told him that she needed wheelchair assistance because her purse was too heavy.

Our trip to Switzerland went well although we modified our itinerary. Rather than immediately journeying onwards from Zurich airport, we spent a night in a hotel near the station

Onward train travel to western Switzerland was a breeze because all the stations were equipped with an elevator or a gently sloping ramp. Alpine hiking was nixed, so we opted to visit the romantic lakeside towns which dot the northern shores of Lake Geneva. Leisurely walks took us past chateaus and the scenic vineyards of Lavaux which spilled down to level lakeside walks near Lutry.

Having read about the therapeutic waters in the mountainous spa town of Leukerbad, we decided to spend our last three days luxuriating in Europe’s largest thermal centre. A two-hour journey by train and Swiss Post Bus took us up to an elevation of 1411 m. Despite the surprise of arriving in a summer snowstorm, we were completely rejuvenated by the pure air and the resort’s burbling waters.

Having completed the Swiss leg of our trip, we awaited our Scottish flight in the peaceful lounge at Heathrow which is dedicated for special needs passengers. Removed from the buzz of the main airport, I pondered upon the challenges and the many interesting people I had met during my journey and realized that traveling with an injury had in many ways enriched my travel experience.

Contacts:

Switzerland Tourism: http://www.MySwitzerland.com
Leukerbad Tourism: http://www.leukerbad.ch
Rail Europe: http://www.raileurope.com
British Airways: http://www.britishairways.com
Flying with a disability: http://www.flying-with-disability.org

Where we stayed:

Zurich: Hotel du Theatre: http://www.hotel-du-theatre.ch
Lausanne: Best Western Hotel Mirabeau: http://www.mirabeau.ch
Leukerbad: Hotel Astoria: http://www.astoria-leukerbad.ch

Images by Hamish M. Jackson
Email: caroline@crestlynn.com
Web: http://www.crestlynn.com

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Destination: Europe

Switzerland