Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Decided Oz wasn't for our family so made all the necessary arrangements to go home to the U.K.....shipping container gone....money transferred.....house gone......booked flights ........then disaster!!!!! Atempted to fly twice but our son is so terrified he could not do it even with heavy sedation....so we are now stranded in Oz ....does anyone out there know how to get back to the U.K without flying??? Please Help

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

But surely he flew to get out here? :confused:

I guess your only other alternative is by boat!!

Can i ask how old he is?

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

What made your son so scared? You could go by ship but it takes ages. It might be easier to take your son to see a counsellor immediately to see if they can get to the cause of and alleviate his fear. He must have got on a plane to fly to Oz. Did something scare him then? How old is he?

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

It's very traumatic to have a phobia. :(I also hate flying but I know to get home it's the best option. Maybe hypnosis is the answer but I'm not sure how old he is. Let us know how you get home. Good luck.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

There is a bus from London to OZ- maybe it goes the other way too. Or boat to near east then rail, but they take a long time.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Yep, you can travel with Oz Bus from Sydney to London. Here's the website http://www.oz-bus.com/itinerary.html

I just checked and unfortunately they wont take anyone under 17 years old. Shame.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

All depending on how old he is, I'd be working on the phobia as probably a quicker and probably cheaper option than trying to get a berth on a freighter - even if you could get berths for a family. Hypnosis can be very effective - if the subject is old enough of course. I have a friend whose daughter is very flight phobic and last time I was visiting her she caused the plane to be delayed several hours as she needed to get off as soon as the doors closed and of course then they had to download all her luggage - not a popular girl!

If the lad in question is a small child, I would be heading to a child psychiatrist (if you can find one) or a paediatrician who specialises in behaviour issues and not just one who is going to give you a bottle of phenergan and tell you to get on with it. Poor chap! Poor parents!!!

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Maybe the family can fly out and one parent go on the boat with him.
Poor kid, he must be terrified if the sedation didn't even work.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

I know Qantas used to do a very good course in getting over fear of flying. I've had a couple of friends do it with great success but this was years ago. The course essentially works on familiarity and explaining how a plane works. Controlling breathing...anxiety causes hyperventilation and hyperventilation leads to a panic attack....will be a useful technique to learn. Has he got an ipod you can download some good games/movies on that he can immerse himself in during the runup to boarding? Maybe ring the airline and ask them for ideas, I'm sure they have experience in these matters. Ask if he could get on the plane first and meet the crew. Many people are dreadful before they get on a plane but perfectly fine once they're on....is there a more suitable sedative your doc could prescribe perhaps? What an awful situation to be in.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Thanks for your replies........Tom is 17yrs had some turbulence on way out so that might have been the problem,,,,Tried distraction techniques but nothing worked.....second time we managed to get him on the plane, airline was excellent boarded before anyone else put movie on for him.....I'm a medic so gave him lot's of sedation, but when plane started to move he managed to get himself up and try and open the doors of the plane, myself and a steward had to pin him down........looks like we're going back by boat....via Hawaii, vancouver then new york to Southampton....fingers crossed.:curse:
It's seems so hard to get of this place without flying......

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Also seems to be a flight involved in that route and its not covered by the 'ticket' cost ..... "Any flights (expected – East Timor to Darwin)"

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Not a baby then? How frustrating that you can't just carry him on the plane. If you can get your hands on any of those old clips of the A Team and find out what they knocked BA out with, that might help.;) Not that I'm making light of it. It can't be fun at all. Good luck with everything.:)

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

What a stressful time you have had.

I absolutely hate flying. I have to stop myself from crying on take of and landing. I can understand why he is so scared. I had a very similar experience 12 years ago. We were flying back from Mexico to UK after our honeymoon. Our flight was delayed due to bad weather. Eventually we took off. An hour into the flight the pilot announced that we were heading for a storm but he would try and climb above it. The plane was shaking and we were all sitting with our seatbelts on. The pilot then announced that we were going to have to go through it as we were as high as could be. It was like a scene from a disaster movie! The plane was shaking I could see the lightning out the window. Then the plane just dropped! Everyone was screaming and crying, the masks dropped down. It was so scry! We made it home and I told myself I would never fly again! I have flown every year since and here I am in Australia! As much as I hate flying I force myself to do it. I also don't want to pass my fears onto my children.

I can sympathise with you as to someone that doesnt have a fear it probably sounds silly to have to get a boat home. But getting home is the priority. I hope you all get home safely and once you get back maybe he can get some professional help with his phobia.

Look at your journey home as quality family time. Relax and enjoy the journey home.

Good luck.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Have a look at these links - may give you a little help.

http://www.flywithoutfear.com.au/

http://www.fearofflyinghelp.com/

I do have a friend back home who is writing a book on it (she is an airline pilot) but its too far from completion to be any use to you at present.

Good luck :)

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Here you go Cunard can bring you home, and all your excess luggage too. Plus pets.
I'd love to send Dh back by cunard to Southampton he hates to fly.
I hope you find a solution soon.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

hi ,think of the worst prson flying and that would be me ! 5 years ago i was flying with my friend and her children back to uk and i had a panic attack.
It was so bad that my body started shaking and they had to warm me up,i even had the co pilot come to see me.
That actually was quite funny as i had passed out, and when i woke ,i saw him and tol him to get back and fly the plane.
My body was going into shock, i was told later that if i had not been seen to my organs would have started to dhut down so i was very critical!
After that i went to see a hypnotist three times and that was great.
After those sessions he gave me a cd that i played throughout the flight and that got me through it.I normally cry on take off but i was listening to the CD and did breathing exercises .Maybe its worth a try.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Sorry to hear about your son, depending on where you are in Aus there is always the "boat" option, here in Perth there is a "ship" that leaves Freo and arrive in Harwich...could be Hull......via some stop over's....for the journey it is very well priced as not a "fancy" huge ship.....maybe you could look into something like that.

My Sister in Law works for B.A training Flight Attendents and they do offer excellent courses for people who have a "fear" of flying/planes etc....

Good luck and hope all works out well for all of you.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

John Prescott was working for Cunard for years - and being a government minister wasn't much easier either

The Brits will get it

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

I see you still don't have a solution? Must be awful for you :(

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...003402,00.html

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Am i the only one who finds the whole thing ridiculous? I dont understand why a fear of flying would cause a panic attack on a boat?! If it were my son id pump him full of drugs and tell the airline hes in a vegetative state.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

I think counselling with a psychologist, to get to the root of the fear followed by a fear of flying course might be your best and cheapest way forward. I have used counselling before, it got me over a bout Panic attacks within weeks on the first occasion without any need for anti anxiety drugs.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

I had put off flying for years, as I manage to have panic attacks in lifts and theatres and tube trains - you name it - but I really wanted to fly out with my kids to visit a friend in Vancouver. I sought the help of a hypnotherapist who used a combination of hypnotherapy and NLP - it did the trick for me. I survived 13 hours on a tiny cattle-truck of an aeroplane, and have flown regularly since. It was well worth it because it opened up the world for me again. Good luck ;)

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

There are some really good books out there to help your son deal with his fears. Give some of these a go. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...irdisastercom/

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Well if he won't come on a plane and won't go on a ship it looks ike a life in Oz for the young lad.

Must be hell for the parents but wht other options are there ? Surely some drugs are the answer. Knock out stuff.

Personally I'd rather he was on a ship as the last thing I want is someone trying to open the doors on the plane in mid flight and then finding out that he did it previously as well ! no, the more I think about it I think flying should be denied him.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

I've just tuned into an Oz radio station (online)as this story of this family are on their website today.Apparently the family had paid $7,500 for the Mum and Son to come back to the UK on a cruise ship but unfortunately the son had a panic attack before they boarded and the ships doctor advised him not to travel.They have now been advised to pay for a doctor to escort the young man on a flight but the father has stated this will cost a fortune,so they still have no answers.Feel really sorry for them,and I wish the Mum and Son lots of luck,and safe journey home!

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

I've had panic attacks, so I know how awful they can be, and often there's no particular cause. I'm not a nervous person. They were physiological as it turned out, but no one saw them that way for ages. (Ladies, if you ever have them, get your ferritin level checked. It's iron stores, and that was the sole cause of mine.)

I'd want this son to have a thorough medical check first -- hormones, brain chemicals etc. Then taught some stress blocking techniques, mainly breathing. I'd also do all the same for the mother, and whatever sedatives he gets, she gets, because stress is very easily communicated.

It is really hard to believe that modern medicine doesn't have a happy juice to get him through this. On a more basic level, have they tried bribery? That implies he has more control over this than it seems, but he might not know that. If there's something he really, really, really wants but is unlikely to get as things are, it might work wonders.

Bev

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

The story in the paper mentions the lad has Aspergers...which was not divulged on this thread - different kettle of fish then of course. People with Aspergers are generally very bright and can revel in technical nitty gritty so a session with a flight engineer probably would have allayed a lot of fear, although after so many failed attempts I would imagine the behavioural response is pretty ingrained now.

Maybe medical repatriation by plane - pay for a psych. nurse to travel with highly sedated lad who will know how to apply firm reasoning during the flight to avoid dipping into a full-blown panic attack. Dreadful situation though...really feel for the family.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

I'm really interested in this. Does it mean that if you are anaemic you are more likely to be prone to panic attacks? We found out recently that my daughter's migraines were linked to her being iron-depleted. My own panic attacks certainly started at puberty, when I became a vegetarian and started menstruating, so there was possibly a link there. Fascinating, isn't it?

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Yes, and for some reason the medical community just won't catch on! Any woman in menstruating years who has one of these odd things -- panic attacks, chronic fatigue, migraines, fibromyalgia... First check her iron stores. It's an easy thing to do. If they're fine, then move on to other causes.

But apparently most women in their menstruating years have low stores (not clinically low, but lower than optimum), and it has effects, even if not serious ones. They do slightly less well at physical and mental tasks, for example. Handle stress less well etc etc

As you can tell, it's a soap box of mine.

Bev

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Maybe that's what happened to me- my iron levels are borderline at best, and I have had symptoms as above. They just told me to stop stressing, but I'd have them when I wasn't stressed Mind you now they think I have ms. Welcome to Australia- but at least the doctors are proactive here and don't dismiss it out of hand.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Bus, Ha ha you cant be serious. I reckon that bus trip goes via Nepal, Burma and Acheh province, you'd have more than a fear of flying after that. I costs about $10,000.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Some people think it's a good idea, and if you have the time and are afraid of flying it is a valid suggestion. Mind you I didn't know how much it cost!!!!:blink:

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

No doubt a boat is the way in the short term.. Seriously, I think you should get him to see a qualified counsellor when you get back. There may be deeper issues here than a fear of flying. I am thinking the phobia may be a symptom of something else. It is not unusual for kids of his age to develop these sorts of things as a displacement for other issues.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

But if you read the news link posted by Pollyana you'll see they tried the boat option with the same result - hence the rest of what you say is probably true.

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

It's a shame the OP hasn't been back on here to update - the newspaper article shows they've been through the mill a bit, and have obviously tried other options. The fact that the son has Asperger's may mean that regular counselling will not work?

I too would go for the sedation route just to get back - but looking at previous posts both the OP and her husband are in the health profession and will no doubt know more about this than some of us, and will hopefully have looked into it.

Goodness - what a mess :(

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Or maybe a little compassion for a child with a condition who is petrified.

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Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

But the child in question *does* have a condition - the "being petrified" isn't the condition, but may be part of the side-effect of that condition, but the child actually has a medically diagnosed condition (Aspergers, if I recall correctly).

Re: Stranded In Oz....Need Help!!!!
 

Aspies tend to be very logical and rational, so i dont think a fear of flying can be put down to his condition.