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Blackpool

Distinguished member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
270
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
07/2009
Country
CA
State
Alberta
City
Edmonton
The Dr. and RT suggest I wear oscar(myBipap) during the flight to Niagra falls,it is about a 4hour flight.I phoned Westjet with whom we are flying and they don't have elecrical oulets (Air Canada Does)it is O.K. to take a battery on board if it is comparable to the oxygen ones. I packed up Oscar this morning and took him on a field trip to see Jennifer at Medigad (she is very nice and helpful) to convert him into a battery operated fo the trip , the cable to convert is $200 and aprox $100 for the battery, the problem is Oscar is a big boy and would need a 24amp battery which is the size oF a car battery and would need to be on a wheeled cart he can't go on board. i recently went on a gondala in Bannf and didn't suffer any effects. Has any body flown with 66% breathing. Am I taking a risk flying without. I usually only wear oscar at night.
 
Blackpool..

We recently went camping, and what I used for the bipap was a much smaller expenditure than what you are proposing, and weighed less too.

I went to Walmart and bought a Quipp brand "Power Pro" Autopower 300A. Once this is charged up it will run a bipap for several hours. However, you will still need a power inverter. The first power inverter I bought was not powerful enough, and the homecare that handles my bipap was of little help (the tech said he didn't know, just to go to Radio Shack) so, I took the bipap along with the battery booster into the local radio shack, (to make sure I purchased the right one). It is simple to use this, and the entire cost was way less than $200.

Size and weight wise, it would easily fit into a small carry on, along with your bipap machine. It would be heavy, but really, if your bag had the right dimensions, it would even fit under the seat in front of you for take off and landing.

The humidifier part of the bipap should not be used when its on battery power. Just plug your bipap into the inverter, and the inverter into the battery booster. I just happened to choose the Quipp brand, others here may know if other manufacturers make better ones. (but it was absolutely fine) I guess if you went to a Pep Boys or other automotive supply, you would have a wider range of 12V battery boosters. I'm not that familiar with the stores you have in Alberta. When we first plugged it in to charge it, it indicated it was charged fully right away (when it wasn't) It took several hours to charge it up all the way.

Unfortunately I can't help you with the air travel guidelines, which is ironic as I worked for so many years as a flight attendant... the airline representative you've been working with sounds like she is easy to communicate with though.

You would be much more comfortable wearing the bipap, or at least having it within easy reach while you're flying. The air is pretty thin during the cruise portion of flight.

Good luck and have a great time!
 
How about this one from Canadian Tire.

Motomaster Eliminator 300A PowerBox | Canadian Tire

It has a built in inverter to provide 110 volts, I don't know how long it would last or what the regulations would be for having it on the plane but you might want to check it out anyway.
 
Thank you Rose for your suggestions.
Barry, the problem is that it is a Vpap111 machine and needs a 23 amp . I have decided to for go the bipap on the plane and take the volume recrutment , it might help.To answer your question on the nebulizer , I waited for sonja to come back from holidays and yesterday she provided me with one from Als. the meds are Sabutamol 1mg 4 times a day mixed with 1ml of Mucomyst 20%.The cough mixture and fluids seem to be helping for now so I have the machine and meds on hand if needed but will wait until then to start them.
Thank you both for your help with the batterys but I think Oscar is to greedy.
 
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