It’s clear some here have a differing of opinion to the OP, which is of course fine, but outright personal attacks and saying some really horrible things about disabilities are definitely not tolerated on FT.

Maybe the mods need to have a look at some of this thread?

thanks and don’t worry, I’m on the beach currently and enjoying Rio, although will head back to the hotel shortly, heard beach is not a good place to be safe of an evening from a good pilot friend.

Thanks @jcm9000 for the humour and sharing your story regarding g doing a 1A, humour and banter can certainly be uplifting in such situations and it was very much appreciated thanks!

Your point has already been addressed upthread.

Crikey there’s quite a few of us with “issues”- in my case an old spinal injury and a preponderance for working with tropical diseases leading to spending vast quantities of time in developing countries sometimes colliding to cause issues

there’s a watershed moment here which you have already experienced- once it’s happened to you in public it gets slightly easier (hard to believe I know) as all uphill from there

i’ve eased off a little in recent years as have been working with Australian tropical diseases which are a little more forgiving. But previously when this was a thing I had an emergency kit which I never travelled without:
-at least one and possibly 2 changes of clothing. Always more than one change of undies
-pads of whatever variety- a whole pack, just in case
-wet wipes
-plastic bags
-towel and shower stuff
-loperamide (may not be appropriate for your condition)

there are unfortunately always situations where there is simply no toilet available within 15 minutes- of course I didn’t realise that until it was already an issue and you didn’t either, it’s simply something you don’t think of until the proverbial has already hit the fan- or 15 minutes becomes 15 seconds, or whatever.

You will get into the swing of this and travel will eventually be as easy as it ever was. The hardest part is already done

nb there are also catheter like systems for bowel issues but i’m not sure of the utility in someone who is mobile- I can look into it though

get well soon, hopefully knowing there are plenty of us that have an experience similar to your pain is slightly reassuring

current member but he’s thanks for the banter Shippers.

Where are the crabs in all of this? That’s what I want to know!!!

(not you UncleT!)

Navylad, I am so very sorry to read about your experience. I’m not sure whether this is relevant, but a friend of mine has ulcerative colitis and it is a horrible condition requiring the use of the loo at extremely short notice. He has been caught out a couple of times and it’s extremely unpleasant. I can only imagine how you felt in this situation, especially with the lack of sympathy and empathy from that particular crew member.

I agree that getting on board early and having a word on the way home might be the way to go here.

He isnt trolling really. I fully sympathise with the OP. However, such a recent diagnosis typically demands significant caution as the OP might be in a ‘flare’ of his bowel condition, and consequences of not strictly necessary (I.e. that cannot be postponed for any reason) long haul travel not only can include discomfort, embarassment etc, but could have also reached level of potential clinical complication (electrolyte imbalance, etc, escalation of the flare, superimposed infection, etc.)
it is likely that the OP was ill-advised on travel, but that is not the job of BA....

may I reassure you that I did discuss the travel plans with the specialist beforehand who didn’t express any of the concerns you have; I don’t have any electrolyte imbalance on blood tests, and am doing well with oral intake and given background, pretty good at ensuring I don’t get dehydrated. I am travelling with health insurance and checked with the company who were also happy given the specialist was happy for me to travel and that they would cover any treatment required given the plans were booked in advance of the onset of symptoms. Brazil has universal healthcare and is generally pretty good from the research that I conducted, particularly in big cities such as Rio.

Irrespective of whether you think my decision to travel was a bad one or not, it is rather irrelevant to the situation that that I am now in and much like talk of what would I have done if it happened at security at the airport or during turbulence, which are hypothetical risks that didn’t occur, when the reality is what is actually the focus of the thread; the reaction I should take so that lessons are taken seriously by BA and for the reduction of risk on my return flight.

I don’t personally see it as trolling, all that he’s done is tell it straight up and down the line, he’s said he would hate to be in the OP’s position and hope things get better. I guess the problem is nowadays that if someone has an opinion you don’t agree with/like then they’re automatically trolling or being argumentative/insulting.

as many have said, I hope navylad does learn to live with this and doesn’t suffer too much in the future, but as soon as you start threatening legal action/going to the media then it all starts to go towards the compensation culture and your argument gets weaker.

As a fellow soon to be ex service member, I’m surprised the OP didn’t have a change of clothes in their bag (remember vc10 and tristar that would dump you somewhere random?) as one thing the Service has taught me is that you should always have a change of clothes!