Wondering if anyone may be able to offer advice when traveling with a disabled child, we seem to have come across a small bump in the road.
Our little frequent flyer quite easy to handle during our one hour flights to Melbourne,
most often comfortably curled up on Mummy, as time has passed transfers have become more of a challenge and now our little girl has reached the age of three regulations and requirements have set in. Piper must now have a seat of her own, only this is
quite impossible for a little girl with limited head control, low muscle tone, scoliosis, respiratory complications and seizures.
Piper can not sit although aided by a CARES harness (a special seatbelt which helps to hold Piper in an upright
position) this can be achieved, -achieved although her little head hangs to her chest and without a full harness through the legs Piper also slips down the seat, we continuously lift Piper to an upright position and hold her forehead.
The
CARES harness is wonderful, compact and easy to use although perhaps still not completely ideal for our situation, with advice from our airline we have discovered a way which may make the 14 hour flight a little more comfortable, the suggestion - to purchase
an extra seat which Piper can then lie across – I guess this idea would work much the same as a traveling bassinet and finally we thought we had a solution that did not involve us having to hold our little girls head the entire way to Hong Kong, it would
seem the partnering airline in China which will take us on to Beijing flying for an additional four hours does not accept the CARES harness, now if I’m unable to have my little girl placed on my lap or in a harness, I’m just baffled as to how we
are able to travel safely or at all.
I appreciate this is an unusual scenario, although hopeful someone has overcome a similar situation. If anyone could offer any advice it would be so greatly appreciated. <3 x