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| Hello from Roma, Italia! |
Last month, I boarded a plane to spend eight days in Rome. This isn't my first time traveling with cystic fibrosis and certainly won't be my last. And while I'm definitely not an expert, I've had my fair share of traveling oops-es over the years. As a result, I have learned a few tips to making your vacation both safe and enjoyable when dealing with a chronic illness.
For someone who has physical limitations or takes 20+ medications a day, the idea of travel can be terrifying. Being away from your routine, the extra walking, how on God's green earth you are going to pack and carry
all of your medicine and supplies... It's no small feat, but that doesn't mean you can't still do it! You just need a little extra effort on the front end.
1. Forget crossing your Ts and dotting your Is... The most important letter is P! Plan, prepare and pack ahead of time. Like... way ahead of time.
The most important aspects of traveling with a chronic illness are to plan ahead and be prepared. Honestly, most of the next nine tips are some variation of this. I'll get into more details as they pertain to certain issues such as carry-ons, accommodations, itineraries and travel buddies, but the very first step is to pack your bag.. and pack it early! I am literally probably the worst packer in the history of the mankind. If you have any doubt, ask my sister Jenny who during one trip, managed to repack my one full size and two carry-on size suitcases into just one full and one carry-on because she's a wizard like that. She will probably say otherwise... but I have gotten
slightly better over the years. One thing I did in getting ready for my trip to Rome that significantly reduced my pre-trip anxiety was that I packed every single one of my medications and supplies five days before I boarded the plane, the earliest I ever have! Doing this so early ensured that I could take my time and make sure that I had everything I needed and it fit into my bags. It also gave me several days to mull it over and remember the extra items that I didn't think about the first run through. Far too many times have I packed the night before or even morning of a trip, and 12 hours later when I'm already on my way, remembered something else I needed. This time, I can say with complete confidence that I had every single thing I needed. Looking ahead at my next adventures, I'm going to make it a habit to at least pack these medical essentials well in advance, even if I still have some room for improvement on the whole packing-way-too-many-clothes-at-the-last-minute thing.
