Travelling with cystic fibrosis might seem like a near-impossible feat -- at least one of your suitcases will be filled to the brim with only medication and machines, but once you get the hang of it, it really is what I call a tactical advantage. I, like seemingly everyone from the western world, enjoy travelling. I have been to 19 countries and have travelled to Europe with my trusty best friend/cousin hybrid five times. Here are some of the pros to travelling while sick, that I enjoy.
1. You get to hire free labor for two massages (minimum) a day!
Cystic fibrosis patients need daily physiotherapy to help clear the troublesome mucous that fills up our lungs and causes infection. Find a trusty partner who you can train to give you manual chest physiotherapy so you don’t need to lug your vest and machine around. I honestly wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing it, even if I was as strong as that guy on your Instagram who is always at the gym, because frankly it’s so precious to me, and travelling is a rough sport. Airports and public transit and an empty hotel room all flash “DANGER” and “FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE AF” to me. So find someone who is willing to straddle you, or get on their knees beside your bed, and clap your lungs to loosen up that mucous!
2. You get to stay in hotels and not feel guilty about wasting that extra money.
This is mainly because as someone who constantly gets sick and whose immune system is about as effective as a cat as a lifeguard, not having to share a room with strangers in a hostel is next to heaven. And let’s be honest with each other here, I feel like hotels are much cleaner than the cheaper hostel that caters to tons of drunk travelling Millenials like myself, who all have to use the same shower (read: I don’t have to sleep in a room with a bunch of smelly drunk frat boys.) Also, hotels will always give you a fridge in your room if you ask for it, so no need to worry about your meds being mistakenly thrown out of a communal fridge.
3. As an extension of the previous point, you are far less likely to hear someone getting it on.
This is purely selfish and not CF related, but who really wants to hear that kind of stuff when you’re just trying to sleep and hit up dream land? This personally has a 99.9 percent success rate, except for one instance in the summer of 2012, at a Venetian hotel which had extremely uncomfortably thin walls.
4. You don’t have to carry an oversized backpack everywhere you go, you get to lug two suitcases around!
I always see people wearing backpacks in crowded train stations and airports, and always wonder to myself if the now bipedal turtles ever fall over backwards like their four legged friends do. Pulling two suitcases around really gives off an air of sophistication and importance, I think. And this way I’m pretty sure we can bring home extra souvenirs (or clothes we have bought for ourselves) on the way home, because the medical suitcase has been emptied.
5. You get to pre-board your flights.
What better way to feel solidify your VIP status than by being one of the first to board your transAtlantic flight? Or just your flight down to the Caribbean for that matter. I pre-board all my flights because I need to keep my medical suitcase with me at all times, and by being one of the first people on the plane I guarantee my bag will 1- get a spot in an overhead bin, and 2- be close enough to me during the flight that I can easily access it if need be. Many flights today are so fully booked that passengers are often forced to check their carry-on baggage, and you really can’t have this happen to your medical bag. I avoid the whole hassle of having to explain that "I must keep my bag with me" by pre-boarding due to medical reasons. You can arrange this with the airline before hand or when you get to the gate.
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6. You can use CF as an "out" for certain activities.
On those nights when you want to go home early or really do not want to visit another boring museum, use CF as an excuse to head back to the hotel. I'm not advocating that you use your illness as an excuse, or to gain advantages, but I am saying that since you do have it -- why not use it? Hey, it might even help keep you healthy. If you keep going non-stop like the Energizer bunny, then you might end up getting sick (I know I do.) So taking it easy every once in a while is key. Letting people know that you don't want to do what they want to can be pretty tricky, but if you say you need to rest or do some physio -- they'll totally understand.
7. You get to look hella' fine on the plane.
I wear a mask on the plane to protect myself from the germs and other yucky stuff that stays in the re-circulated air of the cabin during flight. I bought one with a pattern that I think makes me look as awesome as you can when wearing a mask. The great thing about the mask is that it's reusable, and way more comfortable for many hours of wear than the ones you can grab at the hospital. I got mine from Vogmask.
Having CF sucks, but knowing how to use it to your advantage certainly does not! Let me know what your #travelhacks are, and maybe the next time we set out to fulfill our #wanderlust we can all feel a little bit better about it!
