Traveling with Chronic Illness

My family and I enjoyed the beaches and tourist sites of Los Angeles this past week.  Here are my tips for ensuring optimal travel enjoyment.

1.  Travel light.  Each of my family members took one small duffel bag and a backpack.  We did not fill them because we wanted room for souvenirs.  This way we did not have to check any luggage, which saved us a lot of time and energy.  We also were not lifting anything heavy.  That is a huge win if you have chronic pain!  Also, if you have to pay for coin operated laundry, it is far cheaper than paying to check a bag. Next time, we will pack even lighter.  Know too that most rental units come with electronic appliances such as hair dryers and irons and even washing machines and dryers.  This trip, we each packed about four outfits for eight days, wore one pair of comfortable shoes, and packed one pair of sandals.  That was more than enough.  Do not worry too much about packing for weather changes.  You are likely going to buy souvenirs anyways, so if you need it, purchase a sweatshirt when you get there.

2.  Do not be embarrassed to ask for a wheel chair at the airport. We found they were extremely accommodating.  I did not have to worry about falling in the airport.  There was room to hang a bag from the back of the chair.  It saved my energy for later. Having a wheel chair through the airport also meant we were the first to get on the plane.  This meant I did not have to stand longer than I needed, nor did I have to deal with the extra noise of so many people around me.  Noise is a trigger for my vertigo.

3.  Keep your touring expectations reasonable.  There were several days I was unable to go out and tour with my immediate family.  They went to Disney Land one day.  There was no way I was going to pay for something I knew would give me vertigo.  However, when they would text me pictures of what they were doing, I was able to see my children's joy, and this made me feel included.  Also, I relaxed at our condo with my mom and my baby niece.  There is not much that brings me more joy than holding a newborn! Had I expected to be able to go to all the sites my family was attending, I would have been very disappointed.  This way, on the days I could go touring, it was an added bonus! Make rest one of your goals.  This will encourage  you to live in the moment and just enjoy your vacation. One of my favorite memories is sitting early in the morning on our patio, reading something inspirational and writing.

4.  Check the accommodations ahead of time.  Did you know beaches have wheel chairs with giant wheels that can roll through the sand!!!  On many beaches, they are free! I did not happen to need them the two days I was able to go to the beach, but it was reassuring to know that if I had wanted one, they were available.

5.  Have realistic expectations about traffic.  We knew L.A. would have crazy traffic, so were not frustrated when we were at a dead stop for 15 minutes at 11:00 p.m. on a sixteen lane highway.  So what if we spent a little extra time in the car; we were on vacation; we did not have to be anywhere in a rush.

6.  Not only did it save money to rent a condo where we could cook instead of eating at restaurants all week, we ate much healthier than if we had eaten out every day. Healthy eating meant less physical symptoms, which meant a more pleasurable vacation.

7.  Allow for a couple days of downtime when you get home.  The time change can be especially hard on someone with chronic pain or chronic symptoms as can travel in general.  Give yourself extra time to recuperate.

8.  Do not be afraid to let service people know what you need.  I asked the flight attendant if it was an option to get a cup of water to take a pill before we started ascending.  She was very kind about it.

9.  Focus on frequently telling your family how much you appreciate them and enjoy them.  Focus too on asking them what their favorite event was from the day.  This focus on the positive keeps everyone's attitudes more pleasant.  It is easy to get crabby when people are tired.  It is also easy to get crabby when the week becomes anticlimactic.  Keeping the focus on the positive events from the day and complimenting each other makes the vacation much more enjoyable and keeps relationships positive.

10.  Take an Uber to and from the airport.  In MSP, there is a separate place for Uber pick ups.  It was much less rushed at this pick up location, which meant far less stress loading and unloading.