Thanks All.
Sorry for not replying sooner.

My wife started seeing a physical therapist. We hope that it might help a bit until we get clearer answers about the operation, will it be covered by the insurance if we take it abroad, etc...

Jo*mar: As far as we were told it has nothing to do with TOS and as far as we know there was no blockage at the time. the TOS symptoms (weak blood flow in the left arm) appeared just a few months ago.

nospam: Thanks for the info, a light backpack would be good as well, if she could carry just a few KG (most of them on her hips anyway) it would make us able to hike again as I could carry the rest for her. But to be honest - she is in so much pain and discomfort I no longer think about hiking, just to get her healthy again.