FRANCE — An obese Frenchman who sought medical care in the United States and was refused travel by planes, trains and even a cruise ship has returned home after an overnight ambulance ride that crossed half of France.
Roger Chenais, the uncle of Kevin Chenais, said Thursday his 22-year-old nephew and the young man’s parents arrived around 9 a.m. in their home near the Swiss border, 740 kilometers (460 miles) from the port of Calais, where he arrived on a ferry.
The odyssey of Chenais, who weighs 500 pounds (230 kilograms), began when the family said they were left stranded in Chicago after British Airways refusal to honor a return ticket. Ultimately they made it to New York, where Virgin Airways agreed to fly them to London. The Eurostar refused to take Chenais.