Hi All
I'm hoping for advice not judgement. In 2013 we (me, husband & 3 children) took my mum to Florida, she had not been diagnosed then but we knew there was a memory issue. She enjoyed the holiday & although we did we were exhausted due to the extra pressures of dealing with Mum's needs. Mum had a diagnosis of mixed mild dementia earlier this year. We know she had got worse in the year leading up to her diagnosis but she's unchanged since then. So, we've booked to go to Florida again this year, I hasten to add that having discussed this with her consultant, gp & cpn all of them think this is a positive thing & have given some advice for travelling. We also have lots of things in place now which make things easier, I look after her medication for example.
We've booked for just over 3 weeks this time to enable us to take things more slowly & have more rest in between the busy peak visits. Mum has made it very clear that she's looking forward to staying at the villa some days whilst we visit parks. Again, the consultant thinks this will be fine as long as we check in with her throughout the day. We do have a couple of US mobiles which we take with us. The villa also has a phone line.
I've sorted her insurance. I've also been advised to sort her esta ASAP as I may have to apply for a visa due to her mental health. I was quite shocked at this but will go through the process if needed.
I've booked a hotel near the airport the night before our flight to avoid early morning travel.
I was thinking of taking one of our 'talking tiles' with us to record a message from us on days we are out so she knows where we are, when we'll be back & how to ring us. I'll also put a photo of us on the tile so she can associate it with us.
I'm looking into trackers as well in case we get split up in the parks. This may sound a little excessive, I'm just being precautious as there are times we'll all go on rides apart from mum & I worry she will walk off. This didn't happen last time & hasn't happened locally, I'm really just thinking of all possibilities. Does anyone have experience of these? Can you get ones you wear as a bracelet for example? So far we are trailing a smartphone one for myself, husband & older son but these would be reliant on wifi in the park & of course mum taking her phone with her (currently she only has a basic Nokia so the step up to iPhone may be a step too far.)
So, if anyone has any tips for travel I'd be very grateful...
Many thanks
I'm hoping for advice not judgement. In 2013 we (me, husband & 3 children) took my mum to Florida, she had not been diagnosed then but we knew there was a memory issue. She enjoyed the holiday & although we did we were exhausted due to the extra pressures of dealing with Mum's needs. Mum had a diagnosis of mixed mild dementia earlier this year. We know she had got worse in the year leading up to her diagnosis but she's unchanged since then. So, we've booked to go to Florida again this year, I hasten to add that having discussed this with her consultant, gp & cpn all of them think this is a positive thing & have given some advice for travelling. We also have lots of things in place now which make things easier, I look after her medication for example.
We've booked for just over 3 weeks this time to enable us to take things more slowly & have more rest in between the busy peak visits. Mum has made it very clear that she's looking forward to staying at the villa some days whilst we visit parks. Again, the consultant thinks this will be fine as long as we check in with her throughout the day. We do have a couple of US mobiles which we take with us. The villa also has a phone line.
I've sorted her insurance. I've also been advised to sort her esta ASAP as I may have to apply for a visa due to her mental health. I was quite shocked at this but will go through the process if needed.
I've booked a hotel near the airport the night before our flight to avoid early morning travel.
I was thinking of taking one of our 'talking tiles' with us to record a message from us on days we are out so she knows where we are, when we'll be back & how to ring us. I'll also put a photo of us on the tile so she can associate it with us.
I'm looking into trackers as well in case we get split up in the parks. This may sound a little excessive, I'm just being precautious as there are times we'll all go on rides apart from mum & I worry she will walk off. This didn't happen last time & hasn't happened locally, I'm really just thinking of all possibilities. Does anyone have experience of these? Can you get ones you wear as a bracelet for example? So far we are trailing a smartphone one for myself, husband & older son but these would be reliant on wifi in the park & of course mum taking her phone with her (currently she only has a basic Nokia so the step up to iPhone may be a step too far.)
So, if anyone has any tips for travel I'd be very grateful...
Many thanks