empressjo
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2014
- Posts
- 42
I'm a long time 'viewer' & hope to be a paid member if I get enough recommendations to do so.
It comes down to my 'life story' that changed just over 6 years ago. Had accepted a dream job that included travel & new opportunities. Had 6 weeks left at my old job when I had a workplace accident that caused a serious head injury. I have lost everything from trying to survive, to paying for treatment because the Workcover system is a sham. After fighting for help, treatment & just plain validation that I'm not a scammer - I settled in court & received a pittance for the hell of the last 6 years.
My future is now mine, which means no-one following me [warning- if your ever in a situation of being videoed for court reasons - they mainly record you from behind & if your behind is even remotely large - it looks 10 times larger on the big screen!:shock:] no more of their Dr's telling me it's psychological so they can get out of paying for my medications & treatments. Short version is nerve damage left side face & head & mild brain damage. I can walk, talk & obviously write a long message, but forget what I said yesterday, if I've eaten or even things I'm told 10 times a day. Exposure to light, touch, noise & vibration all trigger nerve pain - long flights are always going to be hell!
So I really want to go relax at my best friends house in Arizona for 3 months. My kids flew me there 2 years ago to try to help my recovery. They had a great time while I stayed mainly house bound due to the pain & trauma of traveling. I'm sure many of you can tell horror stories of their experiences with airlines but I was left so trumatised by my last flight home with Qantas that I don't think I can fly with them again.
To top off the disgusting ingrorance to someone with a headinjury - you don't have to speak to me like I'm deaf or 3 years old, but leaving me stranded in a wheelchair, almost in a coma from the shooting nerve pain thru my head, at baggage claim with my family trapped at immigration watching as busy passengers kept knocking into me for what felt like an hour but was closer to half an hour. Yep, I was left on my own, in a wheelchair while 3 adult family members could see what was happening but couldn't get to me to help me. If they had put me along side a wall or the massive round columns, there would have been less people knocking into me. I have no idea what happened to the Qantas attendant that placed me in the middle of the crowd, my daughter was the one who finally got to me & helped me move so others wouldn't pump into me.
MEL -LAX was as best they could do, given I didn't get a points upgrade & the LAX staff were amazing getting myself & my family thru to the connecting flight. Worth the tip we paid. But the return LAX - MEL I was shoved in the middle seat with my son sitting next to me on my bad side & a poor stranger on my right who had to put up with me silently crying for the first 3 hours of the flight. It wasn't until the lights came back on prior to landing that my son realised there were so many empty seats behind us that my request to please be able to rest the right side of my head against the window side was so blatantly a kick in the guts to the respect any Qantas staff member could do to another human being.
So, if your still reading this far, my question is - any suggestions for my next attemp? except this time I will be doing it on my own
November 11 is first day I can leave & thinking of returning late Jan/early feb but applying for 6 month visa incase I try to change return date.
P.S. Qantas 150k bronze & Virgin 35k what ever the lowest is
It comes down to my 'life story' that changed just over 6 years ago. Had accepted a dream job that included travel & new opportunities. Had 6 weeks left at my old job when I had a workplace accident that caused a serious head injury. I have lost everything from trying to survive, to paying for treatment because the Workcover system is a sham. After fighting for help, treatment & just plain validation that I'm not a scammer - I settled in court & received a pittance for the hell of the last 6 years.
My future is now mine, which means no-one following me [warning- if your ever in a situation of being videoed for court reasons - they mainly record you from behind & if your behind is even remotely large - it looks 10 times larger on the big screen!:shock:] no more of their Dr's telling me it's psychological so they can get out of paying for my medications & treatments. Short version is nerve damage left side face & head & mild brain damage. I can walk, talk & obviously write a long message, but forget what I said yesterday, if I've eaten or even things I'm told 10 times a day. Exposure to light, touch, noise & vibration all trigger nerve pain - long flights are always going to be hell!
So I really want to go relax at my best friends house in Arizona for 3 months. My kids flew me there 2 years ago to try to help my recovery. They had a great time while I stayed mainly house bound due to the pain & trauma of traveling. I'm sure many of you can tell horror stories of their experiences with airlines but I was left so trumatised by my last flight home with Qantas that I don't think I can fly with them again.
To top off the disgusting ingrorance to someone with a headinjury - you don't have to speak to me like I'm deaf or 3 years old, but leaving me stranded in a wheelchair, almost in a coma from the shooting nerve pain thru my head, at baggage claim with my family trapped at immigration watching as busy passengers kept knocking into me for what felt like an hour but was closer to half an hour. Yep, I was left on my own, in a wheelchair while 3 adult family members could see what was happening but couldn't get to me to help me. If they had put me along side a wall or the massive round columns, there would have been less people knocking into me. I have no idea what happened to the Qantas attendant that placed me in the middle of the crowd, my daughter was the one who finally got to me & helped me move so others wouldn't pump into me.
MEL -LAX was as best they could do, given I didn't get a points upgrade & the LAX staff were amazing getting myself & my family thru to the connecting flight. Worth the tip we paid. But the return LAX - MEL I was shoved in the middle seat with my son sitting next to me on my bad side & a poor stranger on my right who had to put up with me silently crying for the first 3 hours of the flight. It wasn't until the lights came back on prior to landing that my son realised there were so many empty seats behind us that my request to please be able to rest the right side of my head against the window side was so blatantly a kick in the guts to the respect any Qantas staff member could do to another human being.
So, if your still reading this far, my question is - any suggestions for my next attemp? except this time I will be doing it on my own
November 11 is first day I can leave & thinking of returning late Jan/early feb but applying for 6 month visa incase I try to change return date.P.S. Qantas 150k bronze & Virgin 35k what ever the lowest is
