Caregiving and Summer Vacation: Traveling with Your Elders
We all look forward to taking a summer vacation-heading to the beach or the mountains, to visit relatives or attend a family reunion-but traveling with your elder parents can be a bit of a challenge. Medication, schedules, walking or transportation issues, heat exhaustion and eating concerns all top the list.
Is it worth the trouble?
It might not feel like it at first-but getting away helps to restore your body and mind.
“Taking a vacation is not a luxury – it’s a necessity,” says Kathleen Hall, founder of The Stress Institute in Atlanta. “If you don’t have the opportunity to relax and reflect you get stressed, and chronic stress is the driver of most diseases – heart disease, obesity, insomnia.”
How to Plan for a Fun and Safe Vacation with Your Elders:
- Do your homework ahead of time. Make sure the place you’re
staying – relative’s house or hotel – is aging friendly. Are you on the first floor? Is there an elevator? Is there a pharmacy or hospital nearby in case of an emergency? - Be sure to take all medications-and have extra
prescriptions/emergency and doctor phone numbers/insurance information and even a copy of your living will, etc., in case you need them. It seems like a lot, but now you can keep all this information on a flash drive. - Plan the timing of your trip with care. Be considerate of your loved
one’s abilities, medication schedule, need for food and potty breaks, and know that the added stress of travel/airports/etc, are stressful, so allow for plenty of extra time. - Choose a vacation that’s elder-friendly. Perhaps Disney in August
isn’t such a great idea. Don’t set a schedule that only a tri-athlete could keep up with. Consider a wheelchair or walker-even if it’s just temporary to make busy areas more manageable. - Break your schedule into shorter time chunks. Allow for afternoon
naps, lots of rest time and people watching-and even time to bird watch or just sit on the porch and enjoy the view. - Make sure they have ID on them at all times. Your elder can get an
“official” ID where you get your driver’s license. Talk about what to do if you get separated just as you would with a small child, and repeat these instructions often. - Consider a short trip-three or four days may be all the two of you
can manage! You might want to try to stay within driving distance of home, especially if you haven’t been on a trip in awhile. - Take a separate vacation-without your care buddy. You need the
break-even if it’s just for a few days. Plan months ahead and plan for respite care. Remember, they need a break from you, too! - Carry drinks and snacks to take with medication and be aware of heat exhaustion. Elders get over-heated fast, so sensitive and observant.
- Take lots of pictures and make lots of memories. Isn’t that what
vacations are all about? Laugh together, relax, talk, take walks-and enjoy the time you share.
