Hi my name is Madison and I’m 10 years old. I would like to share my latest adventures on travelling around Australia with CF in our family caravan.
Me and my two older brothers Riley and Jayden were so lucky to be able to go caravanning with my mum and dad around some parts of Australia. We left from Perth on 10th December 2022. The trip took us along the Nullarbor, passed the Great Australian Bight, through Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road and into Melbourne. From there we went to Canberra, Bathurst, The Blue Mountains, and many other spots in between and finally our last stop…Sydney 25th January 2023.
Having CF did not stop me from the many adventures that we came across on this fabulous trip. I stuck to my routine as best I could by having my medicine and doing physio first thing in the morning, before our daily adventures began.
It was a bit hard to use some of the equipment that I needed to take care of myself as my nebuliser machine needed to be plugged into power and sometimes we stayed in free camp areas and there were no power points.
Since we have come back from our trip my Mum has contacted the Respiratory team at PCH and the lovely physio team has worked out a better way for me to do my Physios without needing power, so next time when we are travelling it won’t be so hard.
I am now using “Bronchitol” inhalation tablets instead of hypertonic saline solution so I no longer need to power up my Pariboy nebuliser machine. This will be so much easier for our next trip. I also spend some time on my Aerobika every morning and before bed to help clear out the mucus in my lungs.
I really enjoyed seeing the sites around some parts of Australia. The walking up and down all the steps to see all the lookouts and waterfalls was great exercise and really got my lungs working. Sometimes I needed to take a break and rest but it was a good chance to see all the nice views.
My favourite adventures were:
Coffin Bay Oyster tours, where I got to wear funny waterproof overalls and walk in the water and see the fresh oysters. I didn’t like the taste of them though!
Also the Gold Mine Tour at Bendigo and the Jumping Pillow at the caravan park were awesome too.
The “Puffing Billy” steam train near Melbourne was soooo much fun, you could sit on the edge of the carriage and hang your legs over the side. My family and I saw heaps of beaches, climbed thousands of stairs and had the best time ever. I’m not going to let Cystic Fibrosis stop me from doing any of these fun things.
Our family has another trip planned soon, and this time we will be travelling from Sydney to Cairns. I am looking forward to it being a little easier to take my medicine and I can even do the Bronchitol inhalation tablets and my Aerobika in the car while we are driving to our next destination, because I don’t need power anymore. I can’t wait.