The distinction here is that the majority of users here are covered by supplemental insurance provided by their respective companies. Being a student conference, the majority of us are not frequent fliers (I only fly between my school and home, primarily) and have no need (or money :p) for taking out such a policy. In my case specifically, however, we had close ties with my school's student government organization and they were willing to cover any extra costs incurred by the event, which we were very thankful for.

It was less of a matter of insurance and more of airline policy, but I do agree that even the doctors could have handled things differently as well. When I was checked out, I was barely cognizant of what was going on, despite sounding/looking alright...vomiting aside. The doctor had me sign some kind of form and didn't disclose anything about it or my physical status with my other delegates, who were all present in the room. All I remember was finding the X to sign beside and it was only when I was discussing it with my delegates the morning after that I realized just how potentially screwed up that situation was. I really have no idea what I signed and I find it a bit unsettling.

On the other hand, I do understand that when changing reservations over the phone, the agent has no idea of the authenticity of any claim and must follow policy until word from upper-management is given (which eventually did happen). That said, the eventual waiving of fees didn't help with the majority who were scheduled to leave in the morning and had no other choice but to try and fly because they couldn't afford the fees.

OUCH! I hope you are well now. The Shingles Virus (AKA ChickenPox) is a strain of Herpes, Herpes Zoster. And it can be VERY painful. Extremely so. It varies from person to person. You never know if it will be mild or extreme. Post Herpetic Neuralgia can last for a year or more and include burning, shooting stabbing pains and extreme muscle ache in the legs, rear end, and feet.

Best defense (other than the Shingle vaccine) is to keep that immune system healthy, don't go without sleep if you can help it, and eat well with moderate exercise.

Wow, a Shingles outbreak in Hawaii. Talk about bad luck. :(

From personal experience, acyclovir (anti-viral) and prednisone work really well if you start soon enough and will prevent some of the nerve damage. Gabapentin will relieve the pain and can also be used for post-herpetic neuralgia. I do still have weird sensation in one finger from a case last June, though.

My daughter has an inclination to get sick when we're abroad so i wouldn't even try going to France without travel insurance, but i now have an annual insurance policy that covers everything regardless of whether we're in the UK or anywhere abroad. My daughter got pneumonia when we were in the US last year and was hospitalised, the bill ran to around $7500 dollars which the insurance company picked up but i have no idea what i'd have done otherwise, Incidently i had to get a fit to fly certificate for her to fly, but the final decision was left with VS as the airline, she had a temp thanks to having a couple of shots to lingering issues and so VS wouldn't let us fly, luckily they assessed her as fit the next day but if it had taken longer then had i not had insurance then things could have got very costly regarding flight changes and having to stay longer in the US

I use an annual policy so that I am covered with domestic travel as well as international.

Forced how? The airline put a gun to your head? Sorry, but you weren't forced, you chose to knowingly put hundreds of other people at risk.

In life sometimes bad things happen, and people get stuck with bills they didn't expect. That doesn't entitle you to put hundreds of others at risk, especially as you knew the virus was highly contagious and you had been advised to avoid contact with other people.

Something else I find rather disturbing is the way you blame BC Health, the news media, the airlines and the doctors who failed to give you a note for your choice to fly sick.

Read up on the SARS epidemic some time, and you might gain a different view of those who choose to put others at risk by traveling when they know they are contagious.

I have been on two flights in the last 6 months that were diverted because of serious medical emergencies. The first one was a Southwest flight from DAL to MSY, we diverted to Shreveport. A lady had a seizure and passed out. Fortunately there was a Dr. and two nurses on board but it was a weird scary situation. The FAs were running up and down the aisle and freaking out because they lost her pulse and I head one FA say she thought she was gone. The two nurses and Doctor were very calm and took the situation in stride. When the paramedics carried her off the plane in a rope/hammock type sling instead of a board I could not even look because I was afraid she had passed. A friend of mine was sitting behind the scene and she said that she was breathing when they took her off. We took off a short time later and went on to New Orleans.

Then just a few weeks ago I was on a flight from the SEA to DFW (or was it LAX?, I fly too much) and hello, here we go again. Is there a Doctor or nurse on board? Another person very sick. We landed in Amarillo so that the woman could be taken to the hospital and then the real fun began. Because the first aid kit had been opened we couldn't leave until we got a new one. Amarillo is a American Eagle not American airport so they didn't have the right first aid kit there. After an hour of sitting on the ground the captain tells us to get off the plane, AA has no clue didn't know what they were going to do. Fortunately I carried on so I sprinted over the the Southwest gate and got on a flight that was having the final boarding call. I just didn't feel like hanging around Amarillo to see how they were going to get us back to DFW. I found out later that they flew a first aid kit over from DFW and the flight finally got to Dallas about 3 hours after I was already home.

People if you are sick or have serious health issues that may require ER type medical attention don't get on the plane. Err on the side of caution and take care of yourself! 2 medical diversions in six months, oh wow.

Unexpected bills are a fact of life, yes, but most delegations could not afford the immediate involved in changing flights (amounting to several hundreds of dollars). Not necessarily a gun to our heads but what else would you suggest? Of course I highly doubt from the attitude of your post that you would quite understand the plight of many students these days in terms of the crippling costs of post-secondary education, but I really am open to suggestions. It's not like most of us have the backings of large companies to absorb these costs, but I do hear I can get instant approval for a variety of credit cards these days...

And inb4 back in my day. :rolleyes:

I never blamed BC Health or news outlets for the issue. BC Health handled the situation quite well and I feel that they, and the doctors, did everything within their power. News outlets, minus a bit of misinformation here and there, provided acceptable levels of coverage as well. My issue overall was with the way airlines handled the situation. And yes, I probably should have asked for a doctor's note at the time, but I had a lot more on my mind than a little piece of paper (such as blindingly painful stomach cramps, a cold sweat-inducing fever, and bodily fluids exploding out of various orifices).

Lastly, I do wish to point out that having travelled extensively, I do know about keeping backup funds on hand for instances like these and had planned accordingly. The fact of the matter is, the costs involved in changing flights would have exceeded whatever funds I had available as another unexpected hotel cost ate a significant portion of those funds. Like I said, my group was lucky in that we were able to change our flight plans at no additional cost and I was able to fly when I was in a relatively stable and less contagious state. Those departing in the early morning were not quite as lucky, despite not wanting to fly sick themselves.

Just because she had a seizure doesn't mean she either a) had a history of seizures, or b) was at any significant risk (statistically speaking) of having one. I know two people who've had isolated seizures with no history before or since. Technically, until you have the second one, they won't medicate you for it anyway, at least that's what these two people were both told (by different doctors in different cities, fwiw).

I love how you turn this anecdote into being all about you.

Maybe people are taking care of themselves, and maybe they just had a bad run of luck, you know? Bodies are imperfect.

This happened on my flight
 

I was on a flight with a group going on a trip. A passenger sitting next to me looked so sick and out of it. I alerted the flight attendant on board in a gentile manner and she brought the pursuer to the seat and told the female passenger that she looked so pale and sick to fly.

This female was coughing and looked like she had a fever. The gate agent was so busy boarding the flight she did not notice.

The passenger was removed from the flight and got medical care. The flight attendant thanked me for my awareness as it turned out to be a serious condition(food allergy).

I was given a bottle of champagne and got moved up to Business Elite on Delta for my quick thinking. I ran to the flight attendant to get cold towels and placed it on her forehead. The Paramedics agreed with me that this female passenger could have died if she did not get the proper medical care now.

Actually one lady was brought on in a wheel chair, left in the rope thingie and the other lady's family told the people around them that she had been very ill and they were trying to make it home to Dallas to have her treated. They were both pretty fragile before flying.

Good job.

Yeah, in this case, there's no solid good answer. Probably they thought she was okay enough to travel. Plenty of people travel in wheelchairs, and my own mother-in-law traveled in one after she'd gotten somewhat frail, but that doesn't necessarily translate to imminent danger during a flight.

Sometimes there's no clear answer based on the information one has. And sometimes people are stubborn. Hard to know which in this case.