Wheelchair-Bound Woman Forced to Crawl Onto Plane — Sues American Airlines

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Theresa Purcell was forced to crawl onto an airplane after the airline refused to put out a ramp for her wheelchair. (Photo: Thinkstock)

A wheelchair-bound woman who was forced to crawl onto an airplane is now suing American Airlines.

Theresa Purcell was boarding a commuter plane from San Diego to Hawaii when the gate agent told her it was too late for them to set up the wheelchair ramp.

“I was like ‘Okay, so we can’t just… the ramp is right there,’” Purcell told KHON2 News in Hawaii. “Can’t you guys just push it right here so I can get on?”

The gate agent declined to put the ramp in place, forcing Purcell, who suffers from Charcot-Marie-Tooth’s disease, to get on her hands and knees.

Purcell says it was embarrassing to crawl onto a plane filled with other passengers. (Photo: KHON2)

“There was no other way for me to get on the plane so I crawled up to the plane,” said Purcell. “I was humiliated. It was embarrassing to have 50-something people watch you crawl into a plane.”

Related: American Airlines Sorry for Denying Wheelchair to Cancer Patient

After the incident, Purcell’s attorney reached out to American Airlines asking for compensation, but his request was denied.

In response, Purcell has filed a lawsuit asking for $75,000 in general damages, plus punitive damages.

American Airlines issued an apology to Purcell after she was forced to crawl onto a plane. (Photo: American Airlines)

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/wheelchair-bound-woman-forced-to-crawl-onto-plane-121027355892.html

[Boiler 43,396]

I read it was $2.5m she wanted, got to love the US legal system.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Where do these figures come from?

[Boiler 43,396]

I think it is calculated as a rate per pound judging by the photo.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Much like the coke can incident I bet it's nothing like she is telling and she is fishing for a judgement

I guarantee you there was a policy or safety issue at play here

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

I think it is calculated as a rate per pound judging by the photo.

Could we NOT fat-shame a wheelchair-bound woman with a degenerative muscular condition? You realize that her condition can be intensely painful and that steroids (which can cause intense weight gain) are not uncommon as a medication for the treatment of neuropathies, which Charcot-Marie-Tooth causes neuropathies?

Seriously, it's just sad that you have to make fat jokes at the expense of a wheelchair bound woman with a degenerative disease.

[Boiler 43,396]

Does excess weight help or hinder such a condition?

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Excess weight is often CAUSED by such a condition.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

For all the cheap seats, Not a Tailor is like that blind, deaf, mute woman in the beauty pageant. You just can't beat that...

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Could we NOT fat-shame a wheelchair-bound woman with a degenerative muscular condition? You realize that her condition can be intensely painful and that steroids (which can cause intense weight gain) are not uncommon as a medication for the treatment of neuropathies, which Charcot-Marie-Tooth causes neuropathies?

Seriously, it's just sad that you have to make fat jokes at the expense of a wheelchair bound woman with a degenerative disease.

But yet you think fat red neck jokes are the bomb

[Boiler 43,396]

Pencils are outdated:

Signs and symptoms[edit]
Symptoms of CMT usually begin in early childhood or early adulthood, but can begin earlier. Some people do not experience symptoms until their early thirties or forties. Usually, the initial symptom is foot drop early in the course of the disease. This can also cause hammer toe, where the toes are always curled. Wasting of muscle tissue of the lower parts of the legs may give rise to a "stork leg" or "inverted champagne bottle" appearance. Weakness in the hands and forearms occurs in many people as the disease progresses.

Loss of touch sensation in the feet, ankles and legs, as well as in the hands, wrists and arms occur with various types of the disease. Early and late onset forms occur with 'on and off' painful spasmodic muscular contractions that can be disabling when the disease activates. High arched feet (pes cavus) or flat arched feet (pes planus) are classically associated with the disorder.[3] Sensory and proprioceptive nerves in the hands and feet are often damaged, while pain nerves are left intact. Overuse of an affected hand or limb can activate symptoms including numbness, spasm, and painful cramping.

Symptoms and progression of the disease can vary. Breathing can be affected in some; so can hearing, vision, as well as the neck and shoulder muscles. Scoliosis is common. Hip sockets can be malformed. Gastrointestinal problems can be part of CMT,[4][5] as can difficulty chewing, swallowing, and speaking (due to atrophy of vocal cords).[6] A tremor can develop as muscles waste. Pregnancy has been known to exacerbate CMT, as well as extreme emotional stress. Patients with CMT must avoid periods of prolonged immobility such as when recovering from a secondary injury as prolonged periods of limited mobility can drastically accelerate symptoms of CMT.[7]

Pain due to postural changes, skeletal deformations, muscular fatigue and cramping is fairly common in people with CMT. It can be mitigated or treated by physical therapies, surgeries, and corrective or assistive devices. Analgesic medications may also be needed if other therapies do not provide relief from pain.[8] Neuropathic pain is often a symptom of CMT, though, like other symptoms of CMT, its presence and severity varies from case to case. For some people, pain can be significant to severe and interfere with daily life activities. However, pain is not experienced by all people with CMT. When neuropathic pain is present as a symptom of CMT, it is comparable to that seen in other peripheral neuropathies, as well as Postherpetic neuralgia and Complex regional pain syndrome, among other diseases.[9]

Causes[edit]
Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease is caused by mutations that cause defects in neuronal proteins. Nerve signals are conducted by an axon with a myelin sheath wrapped around it. Most mutations in CMT affect the myelin sheath, but some affect the axon.

The most common cause of CMT (70-80% of the cases) is the duplication of a large region on the short arm of chromosome 17 that includes the gene PMP22. Some mutations affect the gene MFN2, which codes for a mitochondrial protein. Cells contain separate sets of genes in their nucleus and in their mitochondria. In nerve cells, the mitochondria travel down the long axons. In some forms of CMT, mutated MFN2 causes the mitochondria to form large clusters, or clots, which are unable to travel down the axon towards the synapses. This prevents the synapses from functioning.[10]

CMT is divided into the primary demyelinating neuropathies (CMT1, CMT3, and CMT4) and the primary axonal neuropathies (CMT2), with frequent overlap. Another cell involved in CMT is the Schwann cell, which creates the myelin sheath, by wrapping its plasma membrane around the axon in a structure that is sometimes compared to a Swiss roll.[11]

Neurons, Schwann cells, and fibroblasts work together to create a nonworking nerve. Schwann cells and neurons exchange molecular signals that regulate survival and differentiation. These signals are disrupted in CMT.[11]

Demyelinating Schwann cells causes abnormal axon structure and function. They may cause axon degeneration, or they may simply cause axons to malfunction.[1]

The myelin sheath allows nerve cells to conduct signals faster. When the myelin sheath is damaged, nerve signals are slower, and this can be measured by a common neurological test, electromyography. When the axon is damaged, on the other hand, this results in a reduced compound muscle action potential (CMAP).[12]

Diagnosis[edit]
CMT can be diagnosed through symptoms, through measurement of the speed of nerve impulses (nerve conduction studies), through biopsy of the nerve, and through DNA testing. DNA testing can give a definitive diagnosis, but not all the genetic markers for CMT are known. CMT is first noticed when someone develops lower leg weakness, such as foot drop; or foot deformities, including hammertoes and high arches. But signs alone do not lead to diagnosis. Patients must be referred to a physician specialising in neurology or rehabilitation medicine. To see signs of muscle weakness the neurologist will ask patients to walk on their heels or to move part of their leg against an opposing force. In order to identify sensory loss the neurologist will test for deep tendon reflexes, such as the knee jerk, which are reduced or absent in CMT. The doctor will also ask about family history because CMT is hereditary. The lack of family history does not rule out CMT, but it will allow the doctor to rule out other causes of neuropathy such as diabetes or exposure to certain chemicals or drugs.[13]

In 2010, CMT was one of the first diseases where the genetic cause of a particular patient's disease was precisely determined by sequencing the whole genome of an affected individual. This was done by the scientists employed by the Charcot Marie Tooth Association (CMTA) [14][15] Two mutations were identified in a gene, SH3TC2, known to cause CMT. Researchers then compared the affected patient's genome to the genomes of the patient's mother, father, and seven siblings with and without the disease. The mother and father each had one normal and one mutant copy of this gene, and had mild or no symptoms. The offspring that inherited two mutant genes presented fully with the disease. Sequencing the initial patient's whole genome cost $50,000, but researchers estimated that it would soon cost $5,000 and become common.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Yes, that is what Charcot-Marie-Tooth does. Wasting of the muscle does not mean wasting of the whole body. A loss of muscle drastically reduces the body's ability to burn calories as calories are burnt most efficiently by muscle. Additionally, as you become weaker, you move less, burning fewer calories. When you add demylenating neuropathies (which cause pain and are often treated by steroids to try and slow inflammation of the nerves) into the mix, you have a perfect storm that increases weight. (And yes, I know not everyone will experience pain, but it's still a pretty sad day when the commentary you make on a disabled woman's embarrassment is that she's fat.)

But yet you think fat red neck jokes are the bomb

When have I ever said that?

Edited June 9, 2015 by Not a Tailor

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Yes, that is what Charcot-Marie-Tooth does. Wasting of the muscle does not mean wasting of the whole body. A loss of muscle drastically reduces the body's ability to burn calories as calories are burnt most efficiently by muscle. Additionally, as you become weaker, you move less, burning fewer calories. When you add demylenating neuropathies (which cause pain and are often treated by steroids to try and slow inflammation of the nerves) into the mix, you have a perfect storm that increases weight. (And yes, I know not everyone will experience pain, but it's still a pretty sad day when the commentary you make on a disabled woman's embarrassment is that she's fat.)

When have I ever said that?

It was someone people. Who is unimportant

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

It was someone people. Who is unimportant

I'd really like you to show me where I laughed at a 'fat redneck' joke.

Either way, though, mocking a disabled woman who's already been humiliated is just pathetic. If a person needs to do that in order to feel big and popular, he needs a reality check.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Mmm.. I hope there is another side for the story, I hate to think a human being would be treated this way.. Not much in the media besides one of two stories over and over the only difference being the amount being sued for: 75,000 or 2.5 million. Guess we know when the lawyer entered the picture.

I could find very little thought google until I watched the original video report and heard she went by "reece" - found plenty after that..