Other people will be able to confirm this with greater knowledge than I but many years ago when BEA HR was called Mr Stephenson and flight managers had some authority a fairly newly promoted Trident captain ( Howard ******? ) went downhill and eventually became a "down and out". He lost his wife and family. Then one of the company doctors became aware of this chap, realised he was suffering from an affliction which could be treated, and dealt with him. He recovered and was re- instated after being sick for a couple of years. Don't know about his "dragon" though. Also, although the contract specified a maximum sick leave of six months flight management authorised extensions in some cases. One guy I know was on full pay for a year and then on half pay for a further few months until he regained his medical category. It may have cost the airline a few quid but the effect on morale was worth it and we even stopped slagging off the flight manager for a short time.