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Nurse says she was discriminated against for condition, kicked off flight

Nurse says she was discriminated against for condition, kicked off flight
NURSE. HUMILIATED, EMBARRASSED, ASHAMED. IT’S IT’S ALREADY HARD ENOUGH. IT WAS ALREADY DIFFICULT ENOUGH WITH THIS CONDITION BECAUSE I DID HAVE SOME VISIBLE TUMORS ON MY FACE AND MY ARMS, AND PEOPLE WOULD COMMENT. BRIANA SOLARI, SPENDING MOST OF HER DAY STUCK AT THE HOLLYWOOD BURBANK AIRPORT AFTER BEING TAKEN OFF A SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT. SHE HAS A CONDITION KNOWN AS NEUROFIBROMATOSIS, COMMONLY KNOWN AS NF. IT’S A GENETIC DISORDER THAT CAUSES NON-CANCEROUS TUMORS TO GROW IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SKIN. IT’S REALLY HARD TO QUANTIFY WHAT IT’S LIKE TO REALLY BE SINGLED OUT FOR A MEDICAL CONDITION, OR FOR HOW YOU LOOK. SOMETHING THAT I, I REALLY CAN’T HELP. AND I DID TRY TO COVER UP AS BEST I COULD. BRIANA FLEW TO LOS ANGELES FOR SURGERY ON WEDNESDAY TO REDUCE TUMORS ON HER BODY. SHE BOARDED HER FLIGHT TO SACRAMENTO THURSDAY AFTERNOON, AND THE FLIGHT CREW APPROACHED HER WHEN SHE SAT IN HER SEAT. I EXITED THE AIRPLANE AND THEY SAID, WELL, THERE’S BEEN SOME CONCERNS. DO YOU HAVE ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY MEDICAL CONDITION, DISEASES? AND I SAID, NO, I HAVE SURGERY. THAT’S REALLY NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS WHAT’S GOING ON. BUT I SAID, NO, I HAVE SURGERY. AND THEY SAID, OKAY. SO THEN HE GOT ON THE TELEPHONE WITH SOMEBODY THAT SOMEBODY BRIANNA SAYS WAS A DOCTOR WHO’S CONTRACTED WITH THE AIRLINE AND SAYS HE REFUSED TO SPEAK TO HER. I SAID, LET ME SPEAK TO THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR. SO I WAS NOT. I WASN’T EVEN EXAMINED BY THIS PHYSICIAN WHEN THE FLIGHT ULTIMATELY TAKING OFF WITHOUT HER. KCRA THREE REACHED OUT TO SOUTHWEST FOR COMMENT, AND A SPOKESPERSON SAYS, WE’RE LOOKING INTO IT AND PLAN TO FOLLOW UP WITH BOTH THE EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMER INVOLVED TO LEARN MORE. BRIANNA. OBTAINING A LETTER FROM HER SURGEON, CLEARING HER TO FLY SO SOUTHWEST REBOOKED HER ON A NEW FLIGHT. WE CAUGHT UP WITH HER WHEN SHE LANDED. I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER FLY THEM AGAIN. I THINK THIS COULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED MUCH MORE PROFESSIONALLY. THEY SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL THEY HAD ALL OF THE INFORMATION BEFORE MAKING A DECISION THAT ULTIMATELY IMPACTED MY MY DAY, MY FLIGHT, MY TRAVELING AND MY OVERALL PERSPECTIVE ON SOUTHWEST. NOW, BRIANNA WAS GIVEN A $500 FLIGHT VOUCHER AND A MEAL TICKET AS WELL. TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS INCIDENT. WHEN WE SPOKE TO HER WHEN SHE LANDED, SHE ALSO TOLD US THAT SHE PLANS ON TAKING SOME LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE AIRLINE BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY DID, WHICH IS AGAIN, A LITTLE BIT OF DISCRIMINATION. ALL RIGHT, ANDREA, SO WHAT ELSE IS SHE ASKING FOR? SHE’S HOPING THAT THIS STORY, WHEN IT GOES OUT TO THE AIRWAYS, RIGHT. WHICH WE’RE DOING RIGHT NOW, IS THAT PEOPLE KIND OF EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON WHAT NF IS AND EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON THE CONDITION, BUT ALSO TO BASICALLY NOT JUDGE OTHERS FOR THE WAY THEY LOOK. MHM. ALL RIGHT. WELL SOUNDS LIKE SHE’S HOPEFUL THAT THIS WILL BE A TEACHING MOME
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Nurse says she was discriminated against for condition, kicked off flight
A nurse from Northern California is claiming she was discriminated against for her medical condition and was forced off her Southwest Airlines flight Thursday."Humiliated, embarrassed, ashamed. It's already hard enough. It's already difficult enough with this condition because I did have some visible tumors on my face and my arms, and people would comment," said Brianna Solari.Solari was set to board SW Flight #3471 around noon Thursday at the Hollywood-Burbank Airport in Los Angeles County, California. She suffers from neurofibromatosis, also known as NF. It's a genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow in the nervous system and skin. These tumors, called neurofibromas, can form anywhere in the body where there are nerves."I lack an enzyme, which is neurofibromin, which is a tumor suppressor, so I lack that. So tumors grow along nerves and can be tiny, little pinpoint tumors, or they can be enormous. Some of them can be very disfiguring," Solari said.Solari said she flew to Los Angeles for a procedure that would reduce the tumors on her body. Her surgery took place on Wednesday, with plans to fly back to Sacramento on Thursday at midday.Once she boarded and got to her seat, a flight crew member approached to speak to her."I exited the airplane, and they said there had been some concerns. Do you have any, you know, medical conditions, or diseases? And I said, no, I had surgery. That's none of their business what's going on. But I said, no, I had surgery. And they said, OK, so then he got on the telephone with somebody," Solari said.Solari said the person on the phone was a doctor contracted by the airline and refused to speak to her. She wanted to explain her condition to the doctor, but employees prevented her from doing so."I said, let me speak to the doctor. I wasn't examined by this physician," Solari said.Hearst sister station KCRA 3 reached out to Southwest for comment about the situation, and a spokesperson sent this statement:"We are looking into it and plan to follow up with both the employees and customers involved to learn more."Solari ultimately had to obtain a letter from her surgeon that cleared her to fly. That letter was shown to Southwest Airlines employees in Burbank and they rebooked her on a new flight to Sacramento.KCRA 3 met up with her once she landed."I don't think I'll ever fly them again. I think this could have been handled much more professionally. They should have waited until they had all of the information before making a decision that ultimately impacted my day, my flight, my traveling, and my overall perspective on Southwest has changed," Solari said.To remedy the situation, the airline gave Brianna a $500 flight voucher and a $45 meal voucher. She said that she plans to take legal action against Southwest in the coming days."This is absolutely discrimination. Violating my medical privacy. They don't have to know I just said I had surgery, and that should be it. They shouldn't be prying into my private medical information," Solari said.
ROSEVILLE, Calif. —

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A nurse from Northern California is claiming she was discriminated against for her medical condition and was forced off her Southwest Airlines flight Thursday.

"Humiliated, embarrassed, ashamed. It's already hard enough. It's already difficult enough with this condition because I did have some visible tumors on my face and my arms, and people would comment," said Brianna Solari.

Solari was set to board SW Flight #3471 around noon Thursday at the Hollywood-Burbank Airport in Los Angeles County, California.

She suffers from neurofibromatosis, also known as NF. It's a genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow in the nervous system and skin. These tumors, called neurofibromas, can form anywhere in the body where there are nerves.

"I lack an enzyme, which is neurofibromin, which is a tumor suppressor, so I lack that. So tumors grow along nerves and can be tiny, little pinpoint tumors, or they can be enormous. Some of them can be very disfiguring," Solari said.

Solari said she flew to Los Angeles for a procedure that would reduce the tumors on her body. Her surgery took place on Wednesday, with plans to fly back to Sacramento on Thursday at midday.

Once she boarded and got to her seat, a flight crew member approached to speak to her.

"I exited the airplane, and they said there had been some concerns. Do you have any, you know, medical conditions, or diseases? And I said, no, I had surgery. That's none of their business what's going on. But I said, no, I had surgery. And they said, OK, so then he got on the telephone with somebody," Solari said.

Solari said the person on the phone was a doctor contracted by the airline and refused to speak to her. She wanted to explain her condition to the doctor, but employees prevented her from doing so.

"I said, let me speak to the doctor. I wasn't examined by this physician," Solari said.

Hearst sister station KCRA 3 reached out to Southwest for comment about the situation, and a spokesperson sent this statement:

"We are looking into it and plan to follow up with both the employees and customers involved to learn more."

Solari ultimately had to obtain a letter from her surgeon that cleared her to fly. That letter was shown to Southwest Airlines employees in Burbank and they rebooked her on a new flight to Sacramento.

KCRA 3 met up with her once she landed.

"I don't think I'll ever fly them again. I think this could have been handled much more professionally. They should have waited until they had all of the information before making a decision that ultimately impacted my day, my flight, my traveling, and my overall perspective on Southwest has changed," Solari said.

To remedy the situation, the airline gave Brianna a $500 flight voucher and a $45 meal voucher. She said that she plans to take legal action against Southwest in the coming days.

"This is absolutely discrimination. Violating my medical privacy. They don't have to know I just said I had surgery, and that should be it. They shouldn't be prying into my private medical information," Solari said.