Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2008. That day Mattie transformed a card board box. Not an unusual Mattie occurrence. Mattie's affection for boxes developed when I enrolled him in "construction club" during kindergarten. It was an after school club that basically encouraged children to use everyday objects around their home and to create with them! Mattie's love for boxes carried over into his cancer treatment. The hospital would save all sorts of packing boxes for Mattie because they knew about his imagination and abilities.
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.
- number of people diagnosed with the virus: 5,572,538
- number of people who died from the virus: 174,178
Today, my dad had a physical therapy session with Jon. Jon has been working with my dad since the week of June 9th. We have known him for two months and in such time, my dad has made physical progress. Jon had my dad walk around the entire house three times today. They were long laps that involved walking on different terrain. Grass being the hardest.
After all the walking, he then did 50 sit to stands from a chair. Needless to say, he is exhausted today!
So we had the caregiver this morning, the PT session, a wound care doctor visit, and the housekeepers. It feels like grand central station.
After lunch, I tackled American Airlines and AMEX. We were scheduled to go on a cruise in December. Of course we are NOT going now. However, my parents bought airline tickets in February for the December trip. Here are my two pieces of advice to all travelers! One, do NOT purchase airline tickets months in advance. There is no monetary advantage to the passenger. Two, if you are planning to cancel a flight, don't! Wait to see if the airline cancels or changes the flight first. This of course provides some logistical challenges on your part, but if an airline cancels or changes your flight arrangements, then they are required to offer you a refund. MEDICAL issues, even with a doctor's note, will not help you qualify for a refund. Despite writing to American Airlines and providing a doctor's note regarding my dad's condition, they have denied the refund. Instead they are offering my parents an airline credit for a year. It has to be used by February 2021. Also ridiculous as my dad isn't traveling NOW or THEN! They will not even allow my parents to transfer the ticket to me. So in essence money has been thrown out the window and the passenger has NO recourse.
Below is the second letter I wrote to American Airlines. I will try going up the chain to get some compassionate person who understands that the human condition doesn't always follow rules and policies and some level of discretion is therefore needed when making refund decisions, especially for older adults.
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I am writing to you in hopes that you can help me, as I would like American Airlines to understand the full extent of the issues and why my family is asking for a refund for these tickets. Right now, the tickets have been canceled and my parents were given a travel credit that must be used by February 14, 2021. The issue is my dad's health has greatly declined (nothing to do with COVID) and his doctor has stated he is NO LONGER able to travel. Therefore, giving my parents a ticket credit is in essence throwing money out the window. My parents are 85 years old. My dad was hospitalized in May and June and as a result has significant physical disabilities and late stage dementia. My parents live in Los Angeles and I live in Washington, DC. I fly first class on American Airlines every other month to visit my parents and provide respite for my mom and direct support for my dad. My family is no stranger to American Airlines and we fly NO OTHER airline. We are loyal to you.
In May my parents mailed the attached document to American Airlines. The attachment included a doctor's note. I am absolutely stunned that American Airlines isn't taking into account medical issues and the advice passengers receive from their doctors. My family is adjusting to around the clock caregiving for my dad, as well as great medical expenses. I had no idea that on top of all of this, we would have to face the lost expenditure from first class UN-USED airline tickets.
I would appreciate the opportunity to talk to a live human being at American Airlines, because your policies are unfair to your older adult passengers. We are not trying to cheat American Airlines, my dad has significant health issues that prevent him from leaving his home environment. In our time of need, I would hope that American Airlines would have compassion for what we are balancing as a family and would want to work with us to make this situation right.
Specifically I would like to talk with someone about granting a refund of these tickets and I am hoping you will help me connect to the appropriate person at American to pursue my request further. I am aware of all of American Airlines' generosity and community based work. Which is why the decision to deny our refund seems contrary to your service based philosophy. I understand that American Airlines has company policies and procedures that must guide your business, but people unfortunately have issues and circumstances that do not always fit and comply. If my parents could travel they would. Their cancellation is not a whim. It is a medical necessity. It is my hope that American values its older adult customers and I look forward to hearing how we can pursue a full refund of my parent's tickets. As the money they spent on tickets should be devoted to my dad's care and not on an unusable set of airline tickets. Much thanks for your time and attention to my email.
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