Traveling and Multiple Sclerosis

As you can tell from my blogs, I'm a a pretty positive person and try to make lemonade when life throws you a bunch of lemons.  As I sit here in extreme pain from what I can only describe as "Charlie Horses", it's very hard to think of the positive.  I recently returned from what I thought would be a very relaxing vacation in Antigua. My agent who booked it called the resort to ask about walking and stairs and they assured her that there was minimal walking and just a few steps to pool and beach.

Upon arriving at resort,  there were thirty six steps to get down to the pool and beach and the resort restaurants were three football fields away from my room.  I asked for a wheelchair and three days later, it arrived broken and wobbly.  As you can probably imagine, I was furious. I walked as much as I could and just kept telling myself it was great exercise.  Each day, the spasms worsened and the muscle fatigue increased. With two new hips and now the spasms, my back began to have spasms also.  The combination of stairs, walking, new hips and pain had irritated the spinal fusion.  On the bright side, it was 80 degrees every day and beautiful sunshine. I can only say that I thank God for a great family and my dear friends. With their help, I managed to make it home safe and sound. 

Why did I write this blog you may ask?  A few reasons.  First, although we have the ADA in our country, not all countries follow those rules.  Always do research when traveling outside the country.  Do not leave it up to an agent to ask the questions. Dig deep to get real answers.  Second, have a support system in place to help you both physically and mentally.  I normally walk well with a cane and never ever thought I would have the difficulties I had in Antigua. In the future, I will be much more prepared for what can possibly go wrong.  Although this is not a positive story, I hope it can help others who travel.  I will blog again when I have some answers about what is causing these symptoms and possible help for relief.

One last note, one of the "Tips of the Week" on this site was about traveling in wheel chairs or with limited mobility.  Use that link http://wheelchairescapes.com/ as it is a great site.

--Susan RN

A BIT ABOUT SUSAN...Susan is a registered nurse who worked in high risk obstetrics at Brigham and Women's for twenty years. She is also a certified nurse paralegal. She is currently not practicing as she is disabled because of MS.  She was diagnosed 8 years ago with RRMS and has a daughter who also has MS.

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