Carolyn and children Abbey and Jackson, who has CF, share their travel story.
Tell us about your travels:
Our holiday was a short trip, being away for just over two weeks. We decided to travel to the UK and then to Switzerland as these are the two places I had people that we could stay with. Also, both Abbey and Jackson wanted to visit The Eye in London and Madame Tussauds. We spent three days in London doing the touristy things; experiencing the London Underground and Red Bus tours. From there we caught trains to Farnham and then to Brighton where we stayed with friends. After UK we flew to Geneva and then caught a train before we were met by friends who drove us up into the mountains to a village called Villiers. We spent a week with our friends and just had an absolutely wonderful time. We had free range of the house and could walk to the train to go skiing or to a free ski field within the village. Jackson skied for six days, building up his skills as he went, and by the end of it was skiing back down to the village. After our week we flew home from Geneva via Dubai.
What sorts of things were helpful in preparing for travel?
I was a bit worried about travelling in winter but we decided to go then so both of our kids could experience a real winter, see snow and try skiing. I was worried about Jackson getting sick, but the trip was something I’d been talking about doing for a long time and it was either now or never. Before we left we had spoken to our Respiratory Doctor at clinic, and he said “go ahead and enjoy the trip”. So we kept Jackson monitored at every clinic visit and because we were going from one wet climate to another wet climate, and Jackson had a bit of a cough, we planned a tune up in a month prior as a precaution to make sure he was as healthy as possible before travelling.
I started planning the trip 6 monthsbefore and booked flights and travel insurance around the same time. I also made sure the trip was simple and well planned before I left home. For example I had purposely booked the most direct and shortest flights, even though they cost a little more. Accommodation, train trips and tourist trips such as Madame Tussauds and the London Eye were all paid for and booked up front. All this was done because I was travelling on my own with two children and wanted to make it as easy, simple and as enjoyable as possible. Our holiday was one of the most enjoyable trips I have been on and the kids had an absolute ball. Jackson can’t wait to go skiing again and it was even more enjoyable when we had lots of friends we could stay with.
Was it difficult to secure travel insurance for Jackson? Can you tell us about the process?
At first it was difficult to secure insurance for Jackson as no one would cover him for a pre-existing medical condition. However Australind Travel were able to source SureTravel Insurance for us, however it did cost twice as much as for my daughter Abbey (who does not have CF) and myself and he had to have his own travel insurance, but I felt more comfortable knowing that we had cover.
Did you have any issues while you were away?
No not at all, in fact it was extremely easy, although we didn’t do the Pulmozyme whilst away as we had no way of keeping it refrigerated, and instead just did the Hypersal twice a day which worked really well. We also noticed that he seemed to cough more in London, I think because the weather was damper, however once we arrived in Switzerland the air was cleaner up in the mountains and he coughed less.
What information did you need prior to travelling?
We received a letter from the respiratory department at PMH which noted his medications, although not once did the airline look at it. We took all of Jackson’s medications as well as his travel neb and the letter all in one bag as hand luggage so that we had it with us at all times, and that worked really well.
How did Jackson manage his treatments while on holidays? Did you stick to a routine or relax a bit while on break?
We stuck with his normal routine and it worked really well and he was extremely good with it. The only time we didn’t do any physio was whilst we were flying.
Do you have any tips or advice for other families that may be travelling?
Go for it! I found it extremely easy, especially the age Jackson was and we loved every bit of it. Jackson didn’t miss out on anything, and of course nothing would stop him from skiing; he couldn’t get enough of it.
Article from RED Magazine, winter Edition, 2014.