 Poster: A snowHead
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My mum got injured while skiing in Chamonix she now needs hip replacement surgery. She will get that over the next few days. My question is how do I get her back to the uk to stay with me to help her during recovery?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sorry to hear that. Your travel insurance company should arrange and pay for her repatriation flight.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Smokies and Wine wrote: |
| Sorry to hear that. Your travel insurance company should arrange and pay for her repatriation flight. |
Her mother's travel insurance company....who should do more than arrange the flight. They should arrange the transfer to the airport, airport assistance at each end and transport to the final destination in the UK, as well as any transport from hospital to her hotel if she hasn't arranged for someone to pack her belongings. Hopefully mum has already been in touch with her insurance company.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Tue 18-02-25 3:24; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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If your mother doesn't have a winter sports insurance policy you could try and rearrange her flight and transfer, you might want to fly out to accompany her back, or drive out and bring her back in the car. See what the hospital advises as the best/most comfortable option as well as when she will be able to travel
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thank you so much this is very helpful.
I’ll be with her in the hospital tomorrow afternoon and I’m hoping to find out more on her recovery and date of surgery and I’ll make sure she has contacted her insurance.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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After a hip replacement, flying is not recommended for 3 months. There are a number of risks if reducing this time period. DVT being the main one.
Travelling in a car, dependant from patient to patient, 3-4 weeks would be the minimum post op. You really need to be getting up and walking around every couple of hours to keep it mobile and build strength. Add to that, the wound can still be sore.
I did a 75 min journey 12 days after and it wasn't my best idea.
Sorry to be a harbinger of doom. Definitely speak to a hip specialist
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May be a need for an air ambulance home, but her travel insurers should be involved and sorting it all out for you. BTW, as it isn't clear, does your Mum live in the UK usually? If not then insurers will probably only repatriate to her own home address which could be France.
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@Frosty the Snowman, I say you come across more the voice of experience.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Our insurance also covered all the cost for a helper (usually a friend or relative) to go out and assist the insured, including flights, transfers and accommodation. Plus travel costs between the latter and the hospital. This is one reason why insurers will pay for expensive medical repatriation flights - it’s still cheaper than a patient and helper’s costs when abroad for a protracted recovery.
You really need to contact the insurer ASAP. Beyond a certain point they can reject the claim if they haven’t had the opportunity to be involved in various decisions. For example, my wife could have remained and had treatment in Switzerland, or return to the UK to continue it here, but the decision window was only a few days. The insurer organised all the flights home and my travel out etc which is what we wanted anyway. If we had remained without telling them they could have reasonably argued that we never gave them the opportunity to organise a prompt repatriation.
And just as a nod to the NHS, the morning after we flew home she got an appointment with her GP and the same afternoon, was in the fracture clinic of our local hospital seeing a specialist. And got her recovery physio set up the following day.
Our insurer also made sure we got a Fit to Fly report from the discharging hospital in Switzerland, and translated it from the French and had it checked by their medics. Then provided it to the airline to show she was OK. They also got four seats in a row, on a notionally full easyJet flight home, so that she had empty seats each side.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 18-02-25 19:36; edited 1 time in total
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My friend broke her leg skiing in Val d’Isere and required surgery. Her insurance took care of the hospital bills, the hotel for the husband to stay for an extra week until she could be released, and then a Road ambulance (she needed to keep her leg straight so flying wasn’t feasible) which took them both home to Yorkshire. There were two drivers and it was done in one journey. Hopefully your mum has good, comprehensive insurance and an efficient claim handler. Good luck
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
After a hip replacement, flying is not recommended for 3 months. There are a number of risks if reducing this time period. DVT being the main one.
Travelling in a car, dependant from patient to patient, 3-4 weeks would be the minimum post op. You really need to be getting up and walking around every couple of hours to keep it mobile and build strength. Add to that, the wound can still be sore.
I did a 75 min journey 12 days after and it wasn't my best idea.
Sorry to be a harbinger of doom. Definitely speak to a hip specialist |
If you need to get home you need to get home and flying can be part of the repatriation.
Flying is not of itself a particularly high risk for DVT , it is sitting still in the plane for long journeys that is the high risk and you will be sitting for much longer on a road repatriation.
My sister broke her hip skiing in France and was flown home after surgery, it is the norm but arrange through travel insurance.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@T Bar, I have no experience of flying just after a hip replacement, I just know how uncomfortable being in a car was for a couple of weeks after.
Hope it all goes well
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As people have already said, get in touch with her insurance company as a first priority. In July my Mum had a serious fall in France (not skiing related!) and spent 3 weeks in hospital. There was a lot of communication between myself, the hospital, the insurers, and my Mum's GP surgery - I had to be quite tenacious. There was debate about how best to get Mum home, whether she was fit to fly, etc, but in the end the insurance company sorted it all out and made all the actual arrangements. It is in their interest to get the insured home as soon as they can, because of the cost to the insurer of paying for someone in hospital abroad.
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