Planning and preparation will be key to ensuring the trip is less daunting and goes smoothly. We suggest you discuss travel as a goal with your family and any rehabilitation staff if they are involved. You may also like to add this as a goal on Enable Me to help you break down the task into achievable steps.
There would be a number of things to consider, some might include:
- Length of the holiday?
- When do you want to go, what season will it be and how will this affect you?
- Location of the holiday, are there adequate medical services in the country/ies you’ll be travelling?
- Length of the flight, is having a stopover going to help break up the flight?
- Accommodation; access to the hotel/s, bathroom set-ups, equipment required?
- Access to sightseeing activities?
- Travel within countries, buses, trains, hire car?
- Insurance, are you covered?
- Medication, do you have enough supplied?
- Is a carer required for part or all of the trip?
Here are some useful links to resources that have a number of good tips for travelling after a stroke.
http://www.stroke.org.uk/sites/default/files/F27%20Holidays%20after%20stroke.pdf
http://www.strokesurvivor.com/travel_tips.html
http://www.strokefoundation.com.au/blog/?p=1424
http://www.chss.org.uk/documents/2013/08/f13_air_travel_web.pdf
Please note many of the above links are not from an Australian source, therefore services listed in the fact sheets may not be applicable in Australia.
If you wish to discuss your travel goal over the telephone you can call StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
Simone (StrokeLine)