My friend G-J Heins and I created these "10 tips for Caregivers While Traveling" for Caregiving.com which is celebrating National Caregivers Month. We would love to hear your travel tips for caregivers so please leave your suggestions and lessons you've learned in the comment section below.
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| Trish and G-J at Disneyland |
Trish: I have never considered myself much of a
traveler, probably because I grew up in Nebraska and only traveled to Kansas,
Missouri, Iowa and South Dakota during my first 17 years. See a theme? All surrounding states. I had
always dreamed of going to California – my friends and I discussed California at length
without really thinking we would ever get there: the beaches, the movie stars,
the surfers, Hollywood – heck, we were sure we would be “discovered.” I
was not the least bit disappointed, though, when these stereotypes didn’t materialize when my family moved to Sacramento when I was 17.
In fact, driving to our
home from the airport I saw freeway signs pointing toward San Francisco and Los
Angeles and even though they were hundreds of miles away, I could hardly
contain my excitement.
As a young adult, Other
Brother and I drove to Los Angeles on a whim. I later drove to Hollywood with a
friend without much planning at all. After those trips, I traveled around the
country for several weeks one summer with my first husband. We mapped out a general route, took our tent
and sleeping bags and a few dollars to stay in a hotel every now and then. Our
route included stops at relatives’ homes scattered across the
country who were generous with their couches and food.
Traveling became less “on a whim” and more “we need to plan every
last detail” as
I raised kids and Richard’s back issues worsened. Now that Robert lives
with us, planning a trip takes months of work and the hope that the trip will
have some relaxation built-in to recover from all the planning!
Here’s hoping a few tips gained
from our experiences will help other traveling caregivers:
1.
Have a back-up plan. If Richard and I plan a trip, I need to
arrange care for Robert. Because Robert is disabled he is a client of the local
Regional Center and his service coordinator finds “respite care” for him. Even
though we started the process six months in advance, it was only recently a
facility was found for him. Richard and I are going on the Caregiving.com
cruise which is happening within days so I was a little nervous cutting it so
close. Because I am who I am, while the service coordinator was finding a care
home for Robert, I was developing a Plan B for home care and joked that if care
wasn’t found, I would drop Robert off at the service coordinator’s house or
Other Brother’s house. Fortunately, plan B (or C and D) were not needed.
2.
Prepare a care plan. Once a facility was found
for Robert, we toured the place to be sure it was suitable and Robert was
comfortable there. I sent a Care Summary to the administrator (listing all
medications and doctor information). I also created a “What to Know about
Robert” document which will let the staff get to know Robert quickly. I also
arranged to have Other Brother be the emergency contact and provided the
facility with the Durable Power of Attorney documents which gives both me and
Other Brother permission to make decisions on Robert’s behalf.
3.
Count the meds.
I had to check all of Robert’s medications to be sure he would have
enough for both his Day Program and the facility while we were out of
town. Robert will have enough medication
while we are away but I would have had to make arrangements to have any refills
picked up if there was not a sufficient supply for him. Richard has to count his medications as well
and is running into a problem with one of his meds that he will run out of
while we are on our trip. He will talk with his doctor at his upcoming
appointment to see about getting samples to last him the last few remaining
days.
4.
Carry medications with you. We learned this the
hard way during our last trip. Richard was worried about having to explain all
the medications to every TSA agent we encountered so packed the meds in his
checked suitcase. Which was then lost for three days. Going through withdrawals
on vacation is not at the top of anyone’s list but we will not make that
mistake again.
5.
Plan for rest and recovery periods. Richard has extreme pain when standing or
sitting for long periods of time. He is unable to “rush” from one airport
terminal to the next without experiencing terrible, debilitating pain but we
have done this in the past due to plane delays and/or poor planning. When
planning our trips now, I am very careful to plan flights giving us enough time
to semi-leisurely make it to the next gate if we have to change planes.
However, we don’t want too much time because then the travel day gets to be too
long which also causes pain. Regardless of these considerations, building in a
rest time before the next activity is essential. If our cruise leaves on a
Monday, then we travel on Saturday so Sunday can be a day to recover.
G-J: Growing up, I never
went on a family vacation. My family of five moved from New York to California
when I was three, and I guess that was more than enough for my parents! After
that, going to summer camp was the vacation. About the time I got married, my
parents decided it would be fun to vacation with us. This started about 16
years of family vacations, even including one of my brothers on one trip!
After our son was born almost
17 years ago, my Dad’s health declined, making travel a bit more challenging.
Both of my parents passed away before my husband was diagnosed with Mild
Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a possible Alzheimer’s precursor that added a new
level of excitement to travel! My tips
are based on lessons learned from traveling with my Dad and my husband.
6.
Don’t be afraid to borrow a wheelchair. Before traveling, find out what assistance is
available during the trip. Airports usually have free wheelchairs plus you can
usually get a ride from the person driving the cart if there are mobility
issues. Your caree might not be comfortable asking for assistance, so you’ll
need to do this. Amusement parks, malls, and museums often have wheelchairs
available for use as well. Check on this in advance and find out what needs to
be done for access to this assistance so you won’t be scrambling at your
destination when you arrive.
7.
Take advantage of the assistance that is offered. If you are flying and your caree has a
difficult time, moves slower than most people, or is thrown off by noise or
crowds, make sure you board the plane when they allow on anyone needing
assistance. When you arrive at the gate, get your caree settled into a chair
and talk to the person working at the counter so you can let them know you will
be boarding early. Not every need for assistance is obvious, so this will give
you time to answer any questions they might have. If you are meeting people at the airport and
they might need extra assistance, arrive at the airport early, park the car and
ask for a gate pass at the counter. This will allow you to go through security,
following all the TSA regulations, and meet your party at the gate, smoothing
out their arrival as much as possible.
8.
There can be too much togetherness. When you travel, remember that you don’t have
to be together with your travel partners every second of every day. When you’re
at home, you do different things and you aren’t in one room of the house all
the time. If they will be safe, let your caree stay behind in the hotel room
and take a nap while you get out. You can sit in the lobby and people watch if
you don’t want to go too far. If your caree cannot be left alone, try to book a
hotel room that is more of a mini-suite with a bedroom and living area. Your
caree can relax in the bedroom while you enjoy some time by yourself in the
other part of your hotel room.
9.
Watch the airport bathrooms! Especially if you are traveling with someone
of the opposite sex, airport bathrooms can present a real challenge when you
travel. Some airport bathrooms have more than one door which may cause your
caree to exit into another part of the airport. Before sending them into the
bathroom alone, ask about the entrances and exits. If possible, have them use a
family bathroom which will have only one door and no other people in it.
10.
More on medications. Trish covered medications but I’m going to
talk more about them. First, plan ahead, way ahead to make sure you have enough
medications for the vacation and beyond. You want to take enough medications
for you for every day of the trip plus enough for a few extra days in case you
are delayed or any pills are dropped and can’t be recovered. Your pharmacy can
get a vacation allowance which will let them fill prescriptions early. You
don’t want to leave anything related to the medications until the last minute
or you may encounter challenges you can’t overcome. On our last trip, I started
working with the pharmacy over a month in advance. When I picked up the
prescriptions before the trip, one was missing. There was a problem getting it
refilled and they had to contact the doctor for assistance in rectifying the
problem.
Plan for the
worst when it comes to medications. I fill my husband’s three 7-day pill boxes
for our trips, plus take any extra pills in their original bottles and I take a
copy of every prescription, the phone numbers for the doctor and pharmacy, and
my color-coded prescription chart for my husband. I carry all of the
medications. If there is a problem, my husband can breeze through security and
I can explain the situation to the TSA agent. Although everything I take sounds
like overkill, the extra medications and prescriptions were suggested to me by
a pilot’s wife. I thought that if anyone was familiar with the challenges of
flying, it would be her!
When you travel, unless you
are going somewhere remote, remember that as long as you have the medications
with you, you can buy almost anything else you need.
Happy Travels!
Trish & G-J
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