ANDREA EISENMAN
Even though it was a lot of work
planning, in the end the vacation was worth it.
The Reluctant Traveler or
A Broad Goes Abroad–Spring 2003
BY ANDREA EISENMAN
My trip to Italy was part fantasy and part dread until I actually landed in Florence. I had been to Italy nine years prior. It was a time before I became too sick to travel. I had remembered how tense I was back then organizing and planning my medicines and machinery to bring with me, before transplant. Now, I needed to be really organized, not my strong suit, and be prepared for anything that could happen while abroad.
The dread part came from all the worries I had about traveling with my transplanted lungs and the many medications I needed. It was a “Catch 22”; I could never have gone on a trip like this without the transplant but was so worried something would happen to my new lungs while traveling. I worried about everything, from the long plane ride (causing edema) to all the cigarette smoke that I would encounter in the places we would stay and getting sick in Italy without proper medical attention. I was just worried.
The idea for me to visit a friend in Italy had been surreal for me until I invited another friend, Susanne, to accompany me. Until then I just had it in the back of my mind like, it would be nice but I am too scared to make it happen. Well, Susanne had not been on vacation for two years and was gung-ho. She was very instrumental in getting us to Italy. I was glad to have a traveling companion but afraid if I became sick before my trip, which is something that has plagued me in the past, it would also spoil her trip. I wisely bought vacation insurance so that I would not lose my deposit. She opted not to but would still go in the event I could not. That relieved some of my angst about spoiling her trip if I was too sick to go. I also took meticulous care of myself for weeks before the trip.
I realized it would be no fun for my friend or myself if I continued to be a neurotic obsessive mess. So I went about trying to allay my fears by being as prepared for disaster as possible.
I started by asking my pulmonologist if he thought it would be okay to go. With his blessing, I started to figure out how many suitcases I would need to bring all my transplant medications plus an extra week’s worth just in case. Since I am on 23 different drugs, I knew I would need to get a big bag just to carry-on in the event my checked baggage was lost.
The easiest thing was to buy a sizeable bag that could hold my drugs as well as my travel nebulizer, heating coil, steamer, and Neti pot, for nasal lavage. I found a perfect bag combo. It was a big hiking knapsack with a small detachable one that I could use as a purse. Since I was only allowed two bags on board, this would suffice. These bags would be able to accompany me on board. I could not risk checking my pills and then having the airline possibly lose them.
For my clothing, I planned to use a small, wheeled suitcase to check at the baggage counter. I also figured as I used up my medications there would be room in my bag for other things. Well, I didn’t count on all the shopping I did. At one point I had to mail things home because my bags were so full and we moved around so much, I had trouble taking stuff from place to place.
On to the packing of my drugs. It has been said that when flying, it is wise to pack your medications in their containers because they are identified as yours. Good thought but not when you are taking as many as I, and space is an issue. A friend advised me to put a day’s worth of meds in zip lock baggies to save weight and space. She knows because she is a recipient of a double-organ transplant. I took her advice and it made a difference. I was a bit concerned that if my bags were searched my pills might be mistaken for street drugs. So, my doctor wrote a note stating that I am a recipient of a double-lung transplant and that the medicines I am carrying are for my treatment. I also carried with my doctor’s letter a typeset list of my pills and dosages. I was able to put a day’s worth of pills in a zip lock and then every Sunday I would fill in my weekly pill holder. It was great.
Traveling with diabetic supplies: syringes, insulin and my meter were fine. In other trips on airlines I was allowed to take my diabetic purse on board. I did check with Alitalia before my trip and they said it was also fine to bring my “works” on board just as long as I carried only enough syringes for my need on the plane. That was workable. I put the usual four needles with my meter and carried what I would need for the rest of the trip in my carry-on knapsack.
My medications taken care of, I moved on to getting a converter for my electrical appliances since Italy’s current differs from the United States’. I started by calling the manufacturer of my inhalation compressor who never returned my calls. Nice! I then called the company I bought it from and they suggested I buy a compressor just for Italy. They wanted me to know that I could damage my equipment if I used a converter. Great! Because I had been to Italy previously, I knew the converter would do the trick; I just had to get the right one. Since Radio Shack® is in my neighborhood, I popped in there and bought the dual setting one. It was about $32.00. I had my reservations about it working for all my electrical needs. And once in Italy, if it did not work, well, I would be up a creek. I asked many people that I knew and they reassured me it would be fine. It was. It worked perfectly. Even better than the one my traveling companion brought. She eventually used mine after her converter blew the fuse in our room twice.
Then I had to deal with my fears of being in Italy without knowing a doctor if something went wrong with my health. I asked my pulmonolgist for a list of doctors equipped to handle a transplant patient. He gave me a book of cardiothoracic surgeons and hospitals for Europe. Not exactly what I wanted, an extra book to carry, but it did give me peace of mind. Thankfully I did not need it.
On my trip that lasted all of 12 days, two days were just for travel. I was able to squeeze in six different places in Italy. We started in Florence. Although I had been there previously, on this trip I spent five days there and was able to soak up more of the culture, art and cuisine than I had before. Susanne and I took a day trip to Sienna and a half-day trip to the Chianti region for wine tasting. I took small sips.
After Florence it was on to meet my teacher friend, Terri, in Cortona. The town of Cortona sits high on a hill, as do most Mediaeval villages like it. As we did all our traveling by train, we pulled into the station to see the town far up on a hill with fortress walls surrounding it. It was something out of a book. We stayed with Terri who lived in an old dwelling that butted the city wall dating back to the 12th Century. It was so quaint and beautiful.
From Cortona, we went up North to Cinque Terre. There are just no words to adequately describe this area on the Mediterranean. It is five fishing villages that are nestled in to the surrounding rocks right on the sea. We went on the hike that runs from the first town to the last. We opted out of the last walk because it was getting too dark and it was supposedly the most treacherous.
After Cinque Terre, Susanne and I went to Milan and Terri went back to Cortona. We spent only two days in Milan, which reminded me of New York City only grayer. It was fun looking at all the high fashion in the display windows around town. By then the trip was winding down and I was glad to just take it easy before the flight. Thank goodness Susanne took great pictures because it was such a whirlwind trip for me that I had trouble remembering all the great places we went.
My trip turned out to be wonderful. I am so glad I took the challenge and did something that I feared initially. My fears had been conquered. The only problem was the rampant smoking in public places. We tried to solve this by eating outside whenever possible. We also encountered smoke in our room at the first hotel. But once the air conditioning was turned off, after two days, there was no more smoke coming into our room from other guests’ rooms. I did get some edema from the plane ride but it dissipated after a day.
Even though it was a lot of work planning, in the end the vacation was worth it. I am now not so afraid to go places in planes or take long trips in the car. This seemed to be the litmus test and I passed. I am thankful that my transplant center encouraged me to go and helped me to get the papers I needed for the trip. They always say to their patients, “you didn’t get this transplant to live in a bubble”. Which is so true and obvious but sometimes I need reminding.