I thought I would start another thread about this to ask if anybody has ever had a ticket that they couldn't use and re-booked at a later date?

NW airlines told me that we could re-book these flights we were unable to use because we were sick and use them at a later date up to a year.

The only thing I don't know is do we have to use the same route? I was on hold for so long I never got an answer to this question had to hang up..

Anybody done this?

This is best checked with the airline. This being said, I believe generically you must use the ticket within one year (some cases from date of purchase!, some cases from date of missed departure) and if the new trip is more expensive, of course one pays the additional cost.

If the ticket is completely unused, it generally doesn't have to be used on the same routing.