How I Prepare For An International Trip.
Oral Care First.
Housekeeping: Have you checked out my new site? I’ll be adding free downloads and checklists there as I develop them, I have a special project in the wind too, so make sure you are on the list to be notified.
Read more about why I do what I do right here www.yvonnemcclaren.com
Sometimes a third wheel helps and I am here to show you how I find and manage that third wheel when needed - I remember taking this footage and thinking what a cool bike … and why make it hard when there are alternatives.
I have donated all my suitcases.
I did a bit of a Swedish death clean of my home the last few weeks and I had some large Samsonite suitcases I had purchased just prior to my diagnosis.
The largest contained 3 others like a set of Russian Dolls and I added hiking gear and kit into the mix. It (they) were taking up a 1/4 of the room in my bedroom cupboard and one morning, I flung it (them) on to my bed and sorted through the lot.
How different can my packing & preparation be? and what’s a cancer diagnosis got to do with it?
As it turns out, very different.
Regardless of my addiction to hiking and hiking over a number of weeks, I have come to love packing very light. These suitcases represented my new (now old) life in Vietnam literally months before my cancer diagnosis. It was time they and their contents of dreams were donated.
That’s not who I am anymore.
Actually that’s a lie, it IS who I am, I am just viewing that adventure through a slightly different lens.
My preparation is finely tuned and I thought it was finely tuned before, little did I know how packing would be much more considered and without the weight and hassle. My life also received this ‘spring clean’.
Now I travel with what I call minimal structure. I have now crafted the perfect packing list and when I travel I make a note as to what needs updating, replacing or what has not worked after each trip ready for the next trip. Takes all the decisions out of the process mainly. There is now a skeletal list - one of which I want to share with you - read on.
You know those velvet blow up neck pillows you use on aircraft? I had one but I decided that the memory foam version might be better for me after radiation/ surgery/neck dissection. I bought one on Amazon and it arrived like a tight lotus bud ready to open.
Well it was lovely for the first sleep but after that it was like trying to wrestle a randy possum into a gardening glove. It was super hard to roll up and put back in its bag, it took up a mountain of room and it was black so when dropped on the aircraft floor in the middle of a long haul flight - you could not see it nor the accompanying eye mask for all luck or money! Even with my head torch! I reverted back to my 1980’s velour blow up number - yes, I’m still talking about the neck pillow.
Anyway it turns out that it slowly deflates, it needs replacing so that went on the “ improvement list for next trip”.
I make this list of adjustments and I pop it in the “travel clothes/ hiking drawer” under my bed.
When I next go to pack I can refer to the list and it reminds me I don’t have a proper sleep mask, or the neck pillow needs attention or that the internal belt on my hiking pants needs replacing. This list is very helpful, I’ll write a note that says - Yvonne, remember not to travel in those heavy synthetic tights, and wear and take the 100% merino tights.
Now this might seem overkill if you don’t live in Australia, but we are a long, long way from anywhere, we are zombies by the time we hit terra firma.
For me these long haul flights have dental implications, food implications, ear implications, dehydration implications, potentially pain implications and I must and do pack for all potential side effects of HNC treatment.
I have learnt after much practice what my basic and minimal dental care kit must look like and this is it.
In my main toiletry bag (Osprey roll) the top zipped section is what I call my teeth pocket. Toothbrush, dental floss, christmas trees of various sizes - normally 3 for me, I decanter the Neutrafleur and the Curasept in to smaller leak proof containers.
My dentist is fabulous and often gifts me a handful of those tiny Oral 7 samples which are ideal for backpacks and hiking generally.
I always carry bi-carb soda in a film canister. It’s brilliant for mouth wash, if you get pain, you feel like you need a clean boost and I often use it for bites and other medical purposes. So far, touch wood I have not been hauled up over it in Dubai! It does look suspicious.
The hook syringe is a luxury. I have not had to use it much but I do if I get caught out eating something that might cause gum inflammation. Meat normally or skin from something and it replaces my water pikster when travelling. My collapsible cup which rounds out the hook syringe set up, I’ll cover that in the “packing for eating post later”.
In my carry on bag (which is often the same as check in) I carry another dental kit which includes a Christmas tree, and a small travelling toothbrush with paste. This is always near me or in my waist/bum bag along with medications I may need and a tiny disc which if you add water becomes a face washer and hand towel.
I now know that the effort of getting up out of my seat (I am a window person) and going to the aircraft toilet to clean my teeth with the small brushes I have bought with me is well worth the effort. Airlines on those long haul flights always give, even the cattle class (that’s me unless something extraordinary happens) a pair of socks and a toothbrush at the bare minimum. I hang on to those toothbrushes and their tiny pastes as they become my backup in emergencies. Like I said, it is along way from Australia to get to Europe.
This dental set up and packing is probably the most important to get right for flight travel. Transiting through airports and generally over a 24-28 hour period how I maintain dental hygiene. I have early stage ORN (osteoradionecrosis) so it is very important I keep on top of it.
The only other thing I now regularly take on board with me is a buff and soft scarf - for draping over heads and keeping my ear warm… the side they operated near. More on that in another packing list post.
Here’s what I provide cabin crew, it’s a printed card I have enough for each flight and a spare. I hand them out when needed.
Here’s my complete Dental Travelling Checklist and a downloadable Passenger Medical Assistance Note for you to consider on your next flight.
Eat Well !