Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I thought we were going to Toronto. Why are we over a desert?

Tomorrow will be the first time I fly since getting my implant. I have been wondering about whether the implant and/or processor will be a problem with getting through security and/or whether they can be affected by metal detectors and flight.

Looking for answers turned up this list of FAQs about air travel with a cochlear implant. My favourite question:

"Will my implant transmit signals that can interfere with the plane’s navigational instruments?"
One would heartily hope that if it did, someone would've told me by now!

I am a bit concerned that most sites about airline travel with a CI suggest that the user just show the screener their "Patient Identification Card" or simiilar terminology. I've never been given any such card, indeed never heard of them until now; so I will have to cross my fingers and hope that the things have become common enough that nobody has a problem with it tomorrow.

*Edit - Ha! Whaddya know? I do have a card - it was in an envelope along with the warranty and a bunch of printed information in the big box the CI and its accessories originally came in. And now it's in my purse. Potential crisis averted.

ronnie

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3 Comments:

Blogger Xtreme English said...

didn't the implant manufacturer give you a card to carry with you at all times? i've got one for my three stents and and one for my plastic lens (eyeball part). i hope they give me something for the CI, too. I would think that if you don't wear the processor, it wouldn't bother the plane's navigation, but that's a good question to be asking. you should have some kind of official proof that you've got a metal rod inside your skull...happy trails to Toronto, one of my favorite spots on this continent....

6:16 p.m.  
Blogger ronnie said...

Hi, M.E.! As you'll see from the amended post, I did have a card all along - I just didn't know I did. It was stored with the warranty and manuals and so on. Nobody ever mentioned it to me and I didn't even know I had it until I looked for it this morning! So that's a relief.

Thanks for your good wishes about the trip. TO is one of my favourite places too. I'm hoping to get some shopping in at the Eaton Centre but I'm going for a conference and my schedule is pretty packed. I hope to be able to blog from there.

I am thinking of your CI Surgery and sending good energy your way!

9:32 a.m.  
Blogger Xtreme English said...

SO GLAD YOU FOUND THE CARD!!! i'm in the outpatient waiting area in the computer room fooling around online. thanks so much for your good wishes!!!

i love th AGO, btw. the roomful of henry moore sculptures made my knees weak. i had to sit down before i walked in.

ciao

9:51 a.m.  

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