In trying to plan their summer vacation to visit their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Minneapolis, Lorraine and Lorne Hickok ran into a major problem.

They couldn't fly out of the Natrona County International Airport.

Lorne Hickok has been on medical oxygen since December 2005 and until recently, the county airport had no way of accommodating his medical condition. The couple didn't want to drive four hours to Denver or Rapid City, S.D., the closest major airports that have planes large enough to provide travelers who need portable supplies of oxygen.

The couple felt they weren't the only ones with this dilemma and brought it to the attention of Natrona County airport manager Glenn Januska.

"You can't get out of Casper," Hickok said. "People want to go places, but they can't because of (the need for) oxygen."

To help Hickok and others on medical oxygen, the airport recently purchased three oxygen concentrators for $2,300 each.

With these machines, people on oxygen can now fly out of the county airport. They are available to travelers free of charge.

"It's a program we can put in place to help serve people," Januska said. "My parents live in Chicago and they are in their 70s. I would hate to think one of the two of them would have trouble getting here to visit their grandkids, if they were on oxygen."

Januska said the money for the machines came out of the airport's operating budget. He said he is not sure yet how often these will get used, but he said he has fielded calls from others interested and talked to travel agents.

"We know there is a market," Januska said. "The use of medical oxygen is growing."

Lorraine Hickok said several people in her church are also on medical oxygen and would love to visit their grandchildren, too.

The Hickoks said these new machines will make their travel more convenient. They don't have to drive the 12 hours to Minneapolis nor go to another airport.

When the couple flew to San Diego last fall, their neighbor drove them to Denver and picked them up. Lorne Hickok said it cost him an extra $200 for his ticket because he needed oxygen.

Oxygen is normally offered on larger planes at larger airports. Lorne Hickok said the oxygen came down from a tube in the ceiling on the airplane he took to San Diego.

The concentrator he will use for his Minneapolis trip collects oxygen continuously from the air and makes it available as he needs it. The machine weighs less than 10 pounds and is easy to use, Hickok said.

He learned how to use the machine Wednesday during a short orientation at COPD, LLC, a medical supply company in Casper.

The airport partnered with COPD to administer the oxygen concentrators. If people need these machines, they will get them through COPD.

Donetta Reno, office manager at COPD, said if a patient was to purchase his own oxygen concentrator it would cost about $5,500. She said the company used to rent out concentrators for $150 a week, but it was on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Now, all people have to do is sign some paperwork and put down a $500 deposit to use one of the machines for their flight out of Casper. The deposit will be refunded if the machine comes back in good condition.

Interested travelers can call COPD at (307) 237-2711 to reserve an oxygen concentrator.

Lorne Hickok already reserved an oxygen concentrator for his trip to Minneapolis and he and his wife will fly out of the Natrona County International Airport July 26 to visit their family. The couple also has a trip planned to Washington, D.C in October

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@casperstartribune.net.