ts - Ask The Experts - Ask The Experts used by neck breathers as the same would
apply, and the mask is big enough to be placed
around the stoma. Cabin crew are trained to
look after neck breathers in a decompression,
and if they need oxygen in a medical emergency,
and they would adapt the mask and tube fitted
to the oxygen bottles as appropriate.
Lesley Dempsey
Sally Lane
had my voice box removed; I now breathe through
a hole in my neck. I would like to know if it is
possible to have one, or possibly two emergency
oxygen masks on a row of seats, adapted to fit
over the stoma hole in a laryngectomee’s neck.
(Hospitals supply us with this type of oxygen
mask when we have to go to theatre for surgery.)
Obviously we are entitled to the same chance
of survival as any other airline passengers. I
am a regular airline traveller and often think
when listening to the cabin crew giving safety
instructions why they don’t cater for people like
me. There is also the problem with life jackets,
which are no good to neck breathers because we
simply can’t blow into them to keep them inflated.
Neither can we blow a whistle to attract attention
in an emergency.”
And here’s the AHU’s reply:
“The number of passengers travelling who are
neck breathers is very small. The number of
oxygen masks over a row of seats is usually
equivalent to the number of seats, and a limited
number of seats will have one extra mask,
therefore to adapt a mask on each row is not
practical. To do this on a one-off basis would
require a modification to the aircraft and the
stowage that the masks are contained in, and also
therefore is just not practical and would be very
expensive.
The masks that drop down in an emergency
are fairly soft and pliable and are designed to
fit around the nose and mouth of all ages of
passengers. Therefore the masks would be easily
With regards to lifejackets, they are designed
to inflate using the toggle and associated CO2
cylinder. Often lifejackets are dual chamber, so
if one chamber fails, they can still support. The
top-up tube is designed to be used if the jacket
deflates for any reason. However I know of no
lifejacket that has an alternative top-up facility,
other than blowing the tube.”
Some grounds for reassurance there; as
Michael points out, provided you’re not the only
survivor, you could conceivably get someone
else to help inflate your lifejacket. But there’s
still no response to the question of how a lary
can blow a whistle to attract other survivors.
This is certainly an interesting issue, and we’d
be pleased to hear from readers who have
experienced any especially good treatment on
a flight that has helped them to feel really well
looked after.
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Summer 2010 | THE VOICE
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