Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Abby Lee Miller Slams American Airlines After She Says She Fell Out of Her Wheelchair in Airport

Abby Lee Miller is speaking out about a recent airport incident.

While she was traveling on Sunday, the Dance Moms star, 52, said that she had fallen out of her wheelchair shortly after her plane had arrived at the American Airlines gate at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Opening up about the experience on Instagram, Miller slammed the American Airlines staff for not properly handling the situation and went on to praise the airport’s escorts and “hot firemen” for helping her after the fall.

“Help! ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up’ isn’t that the truth? Let’s just say my transfer from the Isle Chair to my own chair didn’t go so well!” the reality star wrote alongside a photo of herself sitting on the floor next to her wheelchair.

“The move should’ve happened on the bridge like usual and not in front of a hundred ppl waiting to board,” she continued. “I shouldn’t have had to ask for someone to call the paramedics and maybe the @americanair Gate Mgr should’ve at the very least asked if I was ok?”

“Thank you to all the Pgh international Airport Escorts that were so very kind & the hot firemen who swiftly got me on my feet, into my chair & on my way!!!” she added.

After receiving an outpouring of support in her comments section, Miller also noted that was feeling sore after the accident.

“Thank you all for asking – I’m stiff and my body aches,” she explained, before adding that her “right hip & knee banged up” and her “Right shoulder is sore”.

In a statement to PEOPLE, American Airlines spokesperson Andrew Trull said the company was aware of the situation and was currently in contact with Miller to issue an apology and full refund.

“We are concerned by the issues raised by Ms. Miller regarding her recent experience at Pittsburgh International Airport and are working with our contracted special assistance vendor to review the incident,” Trull said. “We have been in touch with Ms. Miller to apologize and are providing her a full refund as a result of her experience.”

Though she didn’t have the best experience on her way to Pittsburgh, that didn’t stop her from flying again on Tuesday — this time, however, on United Airlines.

On her Instagram Stories that morning, Miller snapped a photo of her view on the plane and captioned it, “Leaving on a jet plane…”

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as she would’ve hoped and Miller revealed that the airline accidentally broke her wheelchair. Despite the mistake, she later commended United, and one particular employee, for properly handling the situation.

“So United didn’t break me,” she wrote, adding a praying hand emoji. “Thank goodness, they just broke my wheelchair!”

RELATED: Abby Lee Miller Reveals She’s Cancer Free and Hopes to Walk Again: ‘I Feel Like I Have More to Do’

In a separate post featuring a smiling selfie of Miller with a United worker, the reality star wrote, “This @united employee was wonderful to me! She’s having it fixed!”

It is currently unclear how the airline allegedly broke Miller’s wheelchair.

Reps for United did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

RELATED: Abby Lee Miller Claims Going Off Meds ‘Cold Turkey’ in Jail Is to Blame for Current Health Issues

Aside from her recent traveling woes, Miller has had plenty of reasons to smile.

In an interview with PEOPLE in May, the Dance Moms star revealed that she was cancer-free and could not feel more blessed.

“The cancer is completely gone,” Miller said while promoting the upcoming season of her hit Lifetime show. “I’m more than grateful. I’m thankful.”

“I was always grateful but I think I must say ‘Thank you’ a hundred times a day because I have to rely on strangers; someone to open the door, someone to get the hanger off the rack at the department store, someone to pick up my phone if I drop it,” she continued. “How am I supposed to get it? I’m very grateful and thankful to strangers that have been so kind.”

RELATED: Abby Lee Miller Gets Back to Work in Front of the Camera After Her Health Crisis

In April 2018, after undergoing the emergency surgery for what was initially thought to be a spinal infection, the reality star was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In the year since, she has undergone 10 rounds of chemotherapy and months of rehabilitation in hopes of walking again.

Before her health crisis, Miller had been living in a halfway house following her 366-day sentence for bankruptcy fraud at the Victorville Federal Correctional Institution in California. She was released from prison in March 2018.

“I pushed through because I feel like I have more to do,” the Dance Moms star said. “I want to be an executive producer. I have three other shows and a cartoon that I’ve created. I want to do what I really do — I create. I can make something magical and wonderful out of nothing. I do it every week.”

RELATED: ‘OMG!’ Abby Lee Miller Confirms She’s Returning to Dance Moms Amid Cancer Battle

“I have goals,” Miller continued. “I have dreams and I want to see them come to fruition. I want to retire and want to be able to live out my days financially secure. That’s what everyone wants.”

Despite the constant uphill battle with her health, Miller said she’s “hopeful” she will walk again.

“If I can move, I can stand,” she told PEOPLE, slowly moving her feet while in her wheelchair. “I’m supposed to stand three times a day for twenty minutes. I can take a right step because I can put my weight on my left knee then when I take a left step my right leg just crumbles because I need a knee replacement.”

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