FlyerTalk Forums - Flying With a PICC (Central Line)

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- - Flying With a PICC (Central Line) (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/practical-travel-safety-security-issues/1208147-flying-picc-central-line.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bocastephen (Post 16262195)

Thank you - I'm going to ask the hospital for some to take along - perhaps that's the best approach.

Use of the see-thru dressings sounds like the best approach. A letter from the MD, for CYA purposes should anything go south, is also a good idea.

I've also had to assist with air travel for a family member w/PICC a line, but it was prior to the radiation box / prison-style friskings. Thankfully TSA knew what the PICC line was and we had no problems.

1) It probably wouldn't hurt to call PBI airport public relations and politely request if an airport employee could assist at the TSA checkpoint -- or contact the TSA at PBI and arrange in advance for a Supervisor to meet you and accompany you & parents via the checkpoint.

2) Do you have any friends / contacts in SoFla who are law enforcement / peace officers that might be able to accompany you and your parents through TSA?

On another occasion, I arranged to have a friend of family who was a sheriff deputy accompany a grandparent (multiple medical problems including dementia) through a TSA checkpoint in central Florida. This sheriff deputy was from a county just outside of where the airport was located, but accompanied us from the medical facility all the way to and through the airport.

Best of luck to you and a quick recovery for your father!

Heartfelt sympathy for the initiating event and ongoing frayed nerves. BTDT WRT trying to protect ill, elderly parents who need to travel by air in the US. Wishing your father an easy, uneventful recovery.

If you have the contacts and resources, how about having a doctor accompany you through the checkpoint?

South Florida probably offers the best options possible to find a current-licensed one who is semi-retired or otherwise has a flexible-enough schedule to spend a few hours doing this. Your father doesn't have to be his/her actual patient for a physician to render an expert opinion about his fragility or the danger of contaminating a central line.

If needed it's gonna be all about credentials, so if the doc's licensing board provides a wallet card, obviously s/he should carry it, or at least hospital ID badges for wherever s/he has privileges. Uniforms love badges.

Might also be helpful (again, assuming availability) if another relative or friend comes through to support your mother if they try to swarm and isolate you. (A calm, nurturing person who also possesses eagle-eyed observational powers and familiarity with covert recording devices would be ideal.)

I know your predicament is totally without humor, needlessly stressful and infuriating, so hope my snarkiness hasn't offended. Best wishes to all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bocastephen (Post 16260767)

First, I hope that your father does well.

The best way to deal with this is to get a doctor's note describing what it is and why it should not be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. The doc will be happy to do that for you.

Your father will almost certainly just be able to walk through the security line without any second glances anyway.

Hope you can get some sleep before the flight heads home, and best of luck with everything.

Cheers,

Doc

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and suggestions. I'm hopeful that this will be a non issue. The nurse said no to the clear bandage - there is already one over the actual entry point and they don't want anything else stuck there.

I bought a tensor-like bandage to wrap everything up and keep the outside portion of the line from flopping around - I'm hopeful that, and a long sleeve shirt will be enough to keep their hands off. If they start getting pushy, I'll threaten to call a cop and the GSC over right away and perhaps that will shut them up.

The hospital who placed it should give you a credit-card sized card that indicates the device. Have it in your dad's wallet, plus the letter.

Absolutely do not let them even touch the catheter. If it were me I would choose not to fly. I shudder to think what is on their gloves.

Not sure which airports they are going through but it would be even better to have them go through regular metal detector and avoid the entire problem. PICCs are non-metal and should not alarm the WTMD.

All the best to your father for a complete and speedy recovery...and here's hoping no one thinks to use a PICC line to try to take down an airplane between now and the time he's safely home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bocastephen (Post 16265517)

Good luck, bocastephen. I too hope this is a non-event for all of you.

Good luck and best wishes for your dad.

This might be one of those times that I'd actually consider paying for AA's Five Star Service & asking their assistance in the process of getting through security. The TSA is likely to be somewhat less horsey if you've got an airline rep escorting you. No guarantee, but a higher likelihood of making the process easier.....

I'm happy to report the issue turned out to be a non-issue.

The hospital wrapped the end of the line in gauze and then put a gauze sleeve over that as protection against airborne germs or accidental snags. When we checked in with AC, we asked for an escort through security and the contact info for the GSC on duty - our escort turned out to be perfect and he knew exactly what to do.

Both parents were in wheelchairs (my poor mother is exhausted from my father's hospital week) and when we noticed the MMW booth was not being used, we switched from Plan A (escort: "I'll tell the screener your father cannot get out of the wheelchair and not to touch his arm and they'll do a quick patdown") to Plan B (go through the WTMD).

Between the 'front of the line' service and the escort handling everything (he even put my father's shoes back on while he sat in the chair) perfectly, it was a complete breeze.

A HUGE kudos and thanks to the Air Canada skycap/escort at PBI!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bocastephen (Post 16260767)

After a rather harrowing week in the hospital, my parents are flying back north and my father is now sporting a PICC, which is a central line which runs from the inside of the arm up through the artery to just above the heart.

A small portion of the line protrudes out from the skin (like an IV) where infusion medication can be connected.

The line is subject to infection if not cared for properly, so I will likely be covering it with a tensor bandage to keep out airborne germs from coughing, sneezing, etc, or splatter if he should get wet.

Whether by patdown or radiation box, it's going to show up and I'm going to be at the airport with my parents and my refundable ticket boarding pass to get them through security and I'd like to avoid a blowup incident because I honestly will have no hesitation to kick a screener in the head and go to jail if they do anything to place my father at risk - I've already been through enough this week.

So, with this in mind, I would like to know if anyone else has been through a checkpoint recently with a similar medical issue. Basically the line cannot be touched and I will not allow the tensor bandage to be removed. I'm not looking for a conflict, but with our nerves frayed and our protective posture, we want to get through the check as quickly as possible without anything happening that could escalate.

I'm not sure if PBI has the radiation boxes at the B concourse, but I'll assume they do and we're going to end up with a situation that needs to be resolved if the line is detected, so I want to be clear about the limits I can place on the screening process so the line is not disturbed or touched in any way. If that airport/concourse is still using just the WTMD, then I would breath a sigh of relief, as we'd likely avoid any issues.

Any advise?

First off all the best to your father for a speedy recovery, and to you for being the support system.

I would suggest calling the airport first so that they are aware of the issue prior to your arrival, that way there are no surprises. Once there, as you said, if they go thru the WTMD there should be no issues at all. Should a pat-down be required, one of the things we are REQUIRED to ask is if there are any medical implants or devices prior to the start of the patdown. That's the time to bring up the PICC line (my ex-wife had one for a few months so I know too what dealing with these can be like). You might ask to get an STSO involved prior to the start of the patdown as well just to be on the safe side so everyone is on the same page and have that area cleared before the patdown even begins, that way all contact is avoided in that area.