NON-STOP FLIGHTS ALARM FOR MUM OF TRAGIC EMMA
A MOTHER has criticised a new direct route from the UK to Australia after her daughter died from deep vein thrombosis following a long-haul flight.
Ruth Christoffersen’s daughter Emma was on a three-week trip of a lifetime in Australia to go white-water rafting and see the Sydney Harbour Bridge in September 2000.
During the 12,000-mile flight home Emma developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which was believed to have been caused by sitting down for an extended period on the trip home.
She collapsed after arriving at Heathrow Airport on September 30, 2000, and was pronounced dead.
Her mum Ruth, 71, of Newport, has spent the past 18 years campaigning to raise awareness of the deadly condition – one that she didn’t know about before her daughter’s death.
Her campaign went global, with Ruth and husband John even taking their campaign to the High Court.
Although their claim was thrown out and upheld by the House of Lords in 2005, Ruth is as determined as ever to highlight the dangers of DVT.
“We were unaware of DVT,” Ruth said.
“She had an aching leg [on the flight] but some people have that and don’t think they will die. She was sitting on her feet.
“When we said goodbye to her before she went on September 9, 2000, we never thought we wouldn’t see her again.
“The campaign attracted publicity in many countries at the time, but 18 years on and there’s another generation and people are ignorant because they just don’t know.
“We know that people have had DVT and not travelled. Had they been travelling, they wouldn’t have been able to tell their story.
“Once the campaign started, we found out there were five people in Wales who had DVT in 10 months – one was a policeman, one was a nurse. But they had all been on a plane.”
Eighteen years later and air travel has advanced enormously.
Last month, Qantas flight QF9 from Perth to London made history when it carried more than 200 passengers and 16 crew on the non-stop trip.
The flight time, of just over 17 hours, was reduced because stopovers in the Middle East or Asia were eliminated, minated, with the airline also making the most of favourable winds.
But ut Ruth said the thought of those se travelling on the plane for such a long time worries her.
“From From what I’ve heard, there’s re’s a TV programme offering ering a family a trip to Australia and I’m thinking nking ‘do they know?’,” ow?’,” she said.
“I I read that doctors s are telling people to check with their ir doctor before ore they travel. vel. When I read ead that I was s gobsmacked. acked.
“I I can only y do s o much, but once I heard, I knew I had to do something. “DVT runs in our family, but w e knew nothing about it until after she died.
“Emma was travelling for 24 hours but they did have a stop in Singapore. But 17 hours on a flight, I can’t imagine if people just sit there the whole time. Some people don’t get up and move around. I hope and pray that if we can help save one or two lives, it’s worth it.
“I know we have saved lives. One guy was travelling from America and stopped at Heathrow to Amsterdam and on the plane he was reading Emma’s story.
“He had a pain in his leg and he ignored it until the following day. He went to hospital and he was told if he hadn’t read that story, he wouldn’t be here today.
“For some people, it’s only three letters. But the knowledge of those three letters can save a life.”
Qantas says that it provides information about DVT and the importance of passengers doing exercises in information online and in their magazine on the back of every seat.