Carry on abroad
Holidays and Travel Insurance Jetting around the world for a holiday was
normal for me, Canary Isles, Ibiza, Portugal, Spain then America onto Thailand, the Philippines & Hong-Kong. Despite
my disability I got around over the years while the going was good. When I came to using my powerchair I realised
that flying was not an option anymore.
I know airlines can and will accommodate wheelchair users but the planning
that needs to go with that scenario, such as carers and transport needed at the destination who are capable of taking a heavy powerchair - just makes the whole process more trouble than it’s
worth and my wife is not over keen on flying and this type of additional stress is not a good idea.
My sister went on a cruise and really enjoyed the experience. It struck
me that a cruise would suit my family and me down to the ground. Through an agent we booked a tour onboard theIndependence of the Seas the largest cruise ship in
the world at the time, fabulous ship and massive to boot. We had an outside cabin so we could look through the porthole at
the world going by.
The cabin was compact and very
nice but it was a little tricky getting through the cabin door with my wheelchair. I was able to negotiate the cabin but a
problem arose with the bathroom or shower room. The step up into the room was a problem for me I and don’t think the
booking agent realised the extent of what a normal cabin means to somebody in a wheelchair.
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The trip was enjoyable despite the bathroom problem and while getting
on and off the ship at ports using a very steep ramp could be a little hairy the crew where great with their help at all times. We decided
a cruise would be booked again. We decided Italy would be the destination for our next cruise.
When our 2009 holiday
in Devon was in full swing, and because I was determined to have a suitable cabin on the next cruise, booking had to be done
almost a year in advance. I made sure a disabled cabin was booked for the 2010 summer and relaxed in that knowledge. During that
Devon holiday I went off my food to some extent and when I got home the problem seemed to get worse, eventually I was being
sick constantly until in the end my wife phoned the doctor out and he then phoned for an ambulance and off to hospital I went.
Over the coming months I went into hospital 6 times
had tests galore and lost 5 stone in weight. Nothing was helping and I couldn’t eat. Medicine wasn’t helping and
eventually it became clear that the cruise was going to have to be cancelled.
I hung on until the last minute before cancelling, the agents where very good about it but inevitably
I was not going to get all my money back.
Thank goodness for travel insurance; I took out insurance early on when
I booked the cruise even though it was nearly a year hence. Although the paper work was a challenge to complete my claim was
paid and it saved the day and my bank balance. Recently my sister and her husband traveled to California to visit family and
while at an event my brother-in law John collapsed with a heart attack and was rushed to hospital. After an operation he was
allowed out but not allowed to fly. Because of the time difference from U.S.A and UK my sister had a difficult time
trying to get things sorted out. Travel insurance again was a life saver. Phone calls and faxes flew across the pond and the
insurance company where up to the job. A second heart attack resulted in yet another operation immediately. This led
to more time in hospital and the holiday was impossible. My sister was at her wit’s end however, the insurance covered
the hospital bills and even the accommodation for my sister in a motel.
Eventually the insurance company booked a flight home with an escort for my sister and brother –in
law and they arrived home safe and sound.
My Illness
has not gone away but I can cope with it now so my cancelled cruise to Italy has been re-booked for summer 2012, the second
thing I did was buy my travel insurance!
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