With careful planning and following some simple guidelines, you and your loved one can enjoy a stress-free traveling experience.
Caring for a loved one with Parkinson’s disease should not keep you both from traveling. The effects of Parkinson’s can include tremor, severe muscle cramps, impaired balance, challenges in speaking and overall movement challenges. Adding to the challenge, Parkinson’s symptoms can change frequently over the course of the day. But with some careful planning and following some simple guidelines, you and your loved one can enjoy a stress-free traveling experience.
Here are some guidelines to assist you:
Involve Your Loved One: Including your loved one in the travel planning process as much as possible will help them feel more in control of the event, and so they will be less anxious about the trip.
Consult with Your Healthcare Providers: Before planning any trip, consult with your loved one’s doctor and other members of their medical team to discuss your upcoming travel plans. Seek out advice if you have any questions about the safety of the trip you are planning.
Understand Medication Needs: Ensure you have a clear understanding of your loved one’s medication regimen, as Parkinson's medication schedules can be complicated. Review the specific timing of when your loved one will take medications during travel. If you will move time zones review how you should adjust the medication schedule. Bring enough medication for the entire trip, plus some extra in case of delays, and pack it in a carry-on bag, not in a checked bag. Your doctors may also recommend travel-friendly medications to make the trip easier, such as medicine to deal with motion sickness or diarrhea.
Plan for Mobility Challenges: Due to their Parkinson's, your loved one may have mobility issues. Think ahead about how both of you and your luggage will navigate airports, accommodations, and activities. Asking the airline to supply a wheelchair for your loved one, even if they don't usually use one, can be helpful for navigating the airport, such as getting through security checkpoints and getting extra help in pre-boarding the airplane.
Consider Your Mode of Transportation: Air travel may be faster than driving, but it can also be a lot more stressful, considering that airports are busy, and flying may require sitting for an extended period of time. If you do choose to fly, take direct flights, if possible, and book them directly via the airline, so you can tell them that your loved one needs special assistance. Driving to your destination will give you more flexibility, but also requires more frequent stops, which can also be a challenge.
Accommodation Considerations: If you and your loved one are staying at a hotel, alert the hotel staff of your loved one’s condition, and make sure the hotel you choose has accessibility features such grab bars in the bathrooms, walk-in showers, and minimal steps getting into the hotel. Ask for a room on the ground floor of the hotel.
Pack Wisely: Take any important health documents with you in a carry-on bag. These documents include medical history, medications, emergency contacts, and the doctor's contact information. Also carry a change of clothes for your loved one. Have your loved one pack their necessities in a backpack or fanny pack, which keeps their hands free for helping them navigate through hallways and aisles.
Manage Fatigue: Your loved one’s Parkinson’s can lead to them getting very fatigued, so plan that they get plenty of rest on your journey. If you have multiple travel days, break them up with scheduled relaxation time. Avoid overly ambitious plans for sightseeing and other tourist activities. If you are heading to an important event, consider arriving a day ahead to ensure you are both well rested and can calmly absorb any travel-related delays.
Plan for Emergencies: Wherever your destination, make sure you have a plan for medical emergencies, such as finding the location of the hospital nearest to where you and your loved one will be staying. You might consider purchasing travel insurance, and getting tickets that are changeable and refundable.
Stay Calm and Be Flexible: Things happen, whether your loved one has a medical issue or is just extremely uncomfortable in the new environment. In any case you need to be prepared to adjust your plans -- your loved one’s health and comfort should always be the priority.
Take Care of Yourself, Too! As always, caring for yourself is critical, and even more so while you're on the road. Make sure you get plenty of rest, and get support if you feel overwhelmed.
Try a “Practice Run”: If you're thinking of taking a long trip, consider doing a similar shorter trip, first, in a similar manner to see how your loved one reacts to the various aspects of travel. This will help you plan for working around potential problems and challenges.
Traveling is a great way to keep in touch with family and explore the world. Traveling with your loved one with Parkinson’s can make traveling more complicated, but thoughtfully planning ahead your plans should help you both enjoy the trip.
Please talk with your own/loved one’s healthcare provider before using any of this information.
