Originally Posted by
Finkface
I, too, have sympathy as one who has a permanent disability due to a spinal condition and I have endured several surgeries. I only fly business class (or F) because I know my medical needs and limitations and, if I want to travel, I must buy what I need to be able to do so. I would never ask for, nor would I ever expect a freebie or a discount. If you can't afford to take care of your own health, perhaps you need to rethink your plan.
Be very careful with what you say to BA, or any airline. To tell them that your medical condition is so dire that you can not sit upright for the duration of the flight or that if you did, it would cause you "lasting nerve damage" is just asking for them to declare you medically unfit to fly and require a doctor's clearance before they will even let you on the plane at all. No airline is going to risk a diversion or assume the risk when someone has said they are so medically compromised that they need a free bed or else they will suffer irreparable medical harm. If you persist, you may well find yourself having to prove your medical fitness to be allowed to travel at all. It happened to someone I know that tried the same thing to get a free upgrade. As a previous poster said, pay for it yourself like everyone else does.
I too have had multiple spinal surgeries (double fusion of lumber spine, double fusion of neck) and now have a spinal cord stimulator, which, while not a cure, has allowed me to get off all pain medication and allow me to get on with my life.
I took the decision 20 years ago that I would never fly long haul in economy again, and for the last five years or so I will no longer fly more than 3 hours without a flat bed, which limits my short and mid haul trips. For those 20 years I have managed to make good use of Avois and companion vouchers to take one long haul business class trip per year and, once my diminishing Avios stash finally runs out will either pay or not fly long haul.
I too have great sympathy for the OP; back pain is a truly debilitating, life changing (and most likely lifelong) condition, but he/she will have to accept that no airline will give a free upgrade and as you say may even question their fitness to fly, and unless it's an essential trip rather than a holiday I would ask myself whether it's worth risking lasting nerve damage - thankfully I've never been given that diagnosis, but that would be my red line. They should also be aware that unless they have specialist travel insurace they will not be covered; I know I'm not, but am prepared to take the calculated risk with the knowledge that I at least have a flat bed for the return journey.
Finally the bizarre statement "and I really don't want to have to lay down in the middle of an aisle for obvious reasons" - that would never be allowed to happen.