Traveling Trials

It all started as something simple. My son asked if we could travel to see his grandpa in Virginia. Sounds like a pretty easy deal right? Find a plane flight, pack, and roll.

For medically complex people though it rarely is that simple. My son has a port and gets IV fluids. He also has a bunch of other stuff going on.

As for me, I need a place I can rest quietly, foods that I can eat safely since anaphylaxis is no joke and accessibility.

We also need to send medications so we have them there since you can’t rely on the airline company not to lose/damage things.

So it’s not so easy.

The big first hurdle was IV fluids. My son’s doctor has this brilliant plan he will write a note and we will sit in a hospital ER and hope that the doctor will give him fluids. Sounds magical right? So we need to sit in a germ-infested ER for hours and just hope for the best. Well, what could possibly go wrong with that plan???

Then we need to find a hotel or Air BNB with a kitchen, accessible, and a working AC unit because it is Virginia. We also have to be close to hospitals in case something goes wrong. Add in a rental car, groceries, and all that jazz and things get complicated.

I do wish it was easier. I also wish that people understood that we need things to safely visit others. Your world can become very small when you are complex. It tanks, because all I want to do is take my son to see his grandpa and I want to visit my friends.

We will try to make it happen. I don’t give up easily and am used to thinking outside of the box. That’s how we roll around here.