[klingondet]

I am writing now because I just found this forum. Around Thanksgiving of 2004 my wife's brother died. She had to get to Florida. My wife had been told her and her service dog would be well taken care. She would be met at the gate, taken to an area where she could let the dog relieve its self then taken to a bathroom so she could and last taken to the next departure gate. The reps in Muskogee were VERY nice. That ended in Dallas. She was not met, she was not helped, and when she had a seizure & her dog did what its trained to do she was told the pilot would not allow her back on the plane, which threw her in massive seizures. To make a LONG story short her family had to drive to Texas & get her out of the hospital where the AA Reps left her after telling her she could NEVER fly again without an escort..

[mars6423]

I think what the airline staff did in not helping your wife off the plane was absolutely horrendous and uncalled for, she has the right to be helped off and the airline failed to assist her

it was also a little over the top for them to say she can never fly again without an escort, however it is more understandable due to medical issues which may show that she needs assistance when in stressful areas to keep her calm and make sure everything is ok (i understand that you have a trained dog for situations, however, there are instances in which a dog cannot help and where only humans can)

I can also see why they didnt allow your wife to board the plane, a seizure isnt exactly a minor problem, it usually means something larger, and the airline has to look out for EVERYONES safety not just your wifes, so if she had a seizure on the plane it may cause more distress and more injuries to innocent flyers and/or flight attendants. They were probably looking out for her health, with the knowledge (i am guessing they saw your wife having the seizure) they didnt want to take a chance of having to declare a emergancy midflight and divert the plane for medical reasons.

It is a very hard situation to be in, but with medical issues people have to make decisions for the better of the whole, and yeah sometimes that means the someone is on the short end

It sucks and i am sorry that it happend, but it sounds like it was a safety reason