Severe Head Injury..

[Peter-G]

Hi there,

Since a very early age I have wanted to be an airline pilot.

Almost 3 years ago I was a passenger in a car accident and left in a coma for a week, suffering minor visible scars and head injuries/bleeding of the head at the time. I made a full recovery (records from the hospital and neurologists to prove this). Although been led to believe at the time my Pilot dream was over, I recently spoke to a Ryanair Pilot at London Stansted and asked him this. He feels I should go for the Class 1 and see, and that any Medical history or queries will be discussed and considered on the day.

Is this correct? And is my dream career still on the cards?

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Many Thanks,

Peter

[Old Smokey]

Go with the Ryanair pilot's advice, invest some of your hard earned Pounds in a Class 1 medical, it's the only way that you're going to know for sure.

No two head injuries are the same, some will have lasting debilitating effects, some will be fully recoverable (I hope that you're in this group), and then there's all sorts of variations between the two extremes.

The only way to know with any certainty is to go and do the medical, NOT from an ordinary doctor who may not be aware of all of the aviation implications, but an Aviation Medical Examiner, and be totally 'up-front' about your medical history.

Good luck, and happy future flying!:ok:

Old Smokey

[tex8vc]

Hiya!
Indeed Old Smokey is right! You have to invest in Class 1 Medical.
Lets put it this way...
If, you pass you know your dream can be a reality otherwise you would at least know where you stand and plan your life.
Medical would show you a clear picture of your life. As of today, this issue might be the only thing in your mind but after medical you would feel relax, as you would know your situation a degree better. This would just make your life much easy.
Not to mention, some times Dr.s put you on medication or monitor your health for a period of time and then let you have your Class 1.
You are still young, you have time. I am 32 and recently went for my Class 1. I could not pass it as my ECG was showing Short QT interval but I was told to retry after 3 months!
So it all depends on where you (health) stand.
Just don't waste time... have faith and book your Class 1 and get on with your life. And yes don’t forget to post your results!!!

Wishing you all the best!

[MelbPilot85]

Peter,
Go For It!!
While not as severe as your injury, I have on 3 occaisions suffered head trauma. On each occasion I didn't know the day, month or even the year! I also had associated short term memory loss, which never returned. As a result I have had CT scans, and met with specialist etc, as I am sure you have. Fortunately I never had any bleeding, and apart from a couple of blank spots in my memory, I recovered fully. At the time I had the same worries that I wouldn't be able to pursue my goal.
I currently hold an unrestricted class 1 and get to sit in the right hand seat of an A320.
To get my medical and also get it converted to use in any new countries I am based in, I do have to submit reports from the doctors which treated me and jump through a few more hoops than my friends. I think its worth it.
As Old Smokey said, no two head injuries are the same. There is only one way to know for sure, so give it a go.
PM me if you would like to know more. And make sure you let us know how it goes.
Good Luck

[thecoltster]

Do it.
I suffered what sounds to be a similar head injury and time of unconciousness following an accident aged 12. I had cranial bleeding and surgery to minimalise this.
I shared the same concerns as you but paid the cash for the class 1 to find out once and for all if I could fly or not...
I did the class one and all went well, however the medical officer referred me to CAA Neuro specialist for further tests given the seriousness of my injuries.These tests turned out to be very basic and a week or so later I was issued a class 1 with no restrictions , even better the CAA forgot to send me the invoice for the time with the speicalist!
I consider myself extremely lucky, especially now as I fly commercially and love it! I know that the fact that I'd made an otherwise full recovery and the timescale (6 years) without hiccups between the injury and time of class 1 application meant that any concerns were forgotten, I'd hope the same would apply to you.
I hope the outcome for you is as good as mine, you really should find out.
PM me if you think I can help some more...otherwise good luck

[Peter-G]

Firstly, thanks to the above for the replies, they have really boosted my confidence now about the head injury query. Now I have to concentrate on general health!! (Im not worried but even so)

Also another query, the whole deal with renewing medicals and such? What is the actual procedure, i.e annualy? And would such a medical history of the head injury result in an altered procedure?

Thanks Again! :)

Pete

[tex8vc]

Hey mate,
Renewal of medical is not a big issue. I guess it is once a year till you are 50!? (Some one please correct me if I am wrong) and cheap as well as compared to the first one. I would say, gettig first of first class 1 is a big issue!

Good luck keep posting!

[JUZ777]

Pete. first of all congrats on your recovery. Though my situation is a little different, i too was i a car accident back in april 2005 and suffered some memory loss. Here in OZ it dependends not only on your full recovery but the amount of time with loss of or patchy memory, as to how long you have your wings clipped for. From what i understand it is to do with the increased risk of post traumatic epilepsy ie, the longer the memory loss the greater the increased risk. To cut this potential novel short i had my medical suspended for 1 year. Pending a neurologists uptodate report, MRI and EEG i could once again hold a full class1..... Which i recieved in the mail 2 weeks ago...SWEET... The first renewal must include another neurologists report and from there its just normal medical renewal..I know of 2 other guys that had accidents and are now back full flying it just took time, and one of thoes was struck in the head with a prop??????
I wish you the best of luck getting back in the air...

JUZ

[Keep it straight]

ye mate same sort off story for me. i did my head in during a moterbike accidant.and after that i wanted to learn to fly. got my class 2 without to much hassle. class 1 was a different story. i had to go and see a bloke called a neuro syciatrist. or how ever you spell that. he had to find out wether i had any perminant damage. i didnt. but my wallet did after he charched me 750 NZ dollars. but now hold a class 1 and a flying job in OZ. and that all happened in the last 4 years
good luck:ok:

[Hufty]

Just wanted to add that I am glad you made a full recovery! My Dad had a very severe head injury 10 years ago - the doctors thought there was a less than 5% chance that he would survive; but survive he did and he is doing really well. They tell me that any ill effects of head trauma make themselves felt early on, so you if you haven't suffered any ill effects so far then it is unlikely you will, so I understand.

Yeah, just go for the Class 1 - once you have the initial under your belt, the CAA will know you, will know your circumstances and it will likely be a simple matter of just getting your annual renewal like everybody else...

Good luck and let us know how you get on!