04/06/2002 Archived Entry: "Emergencies while travelling"
This is an edited version of a post I made to the chat list on evolt
If you are travelling on an extended vacation/trip there are some very important precautions to take that will make your life a lot easier if you have an emergency.
These tips come from personal experience. My parents (50-somethings) are on a year-long round the world trip. First they were in a terrible motorcycle accident in Thailand. They both had fairly serious injuries and I had to go take care of them in Thailand (not my idea of a fun trip in the sun!). It took two months to recover before they could continue on their trip. They're now in New Zealand and my mom has discovered that she has gallstones and now has to have an emergency operation to remove her gallbladder. She's in Christchurch, New Zealand. A long way from home (Toronto). As my mom wrote in an email they are "INTREPID travellers" and still have a sense of humour about it all. My mom jokes that she's doing research by trying out the health care systems in all the countries she visits to see which type of system is best!
- Get very good health/cancellation/theft insurance. Learn all you can about the different types of insurance and your insurance policy. Spend the extra money. Make sure that your insurance provider will pay for a relative to come take care of you if you are seriously injured. Even if you are travelling with others this is still important as you may all be injured together (in a car accident for example). Try and get extended coverage for a long trip - see if the insurance company will pay for follow-up care. For example, if you are travelling for a year and break your arm, you may not want to return home. However, there will be costs associated with follow-up like getting your cast off, physiotherapy etc, and many regular travel health policies only cover emergency treatment. Really good insurance could make the difference between an aborted trip and a blip in your trip.
- Photocopy all of your documents before you leave and give them to someone that you can count on in an emergency. Important: in this pile of documents is your insurance policy number and a phone number to contact the insurance co.
- Keep your passport with you at all times. If you are in a serious accident, you may be transported to another country or far away from where you are staying and you may never see your baggage again - make sure your passport is not in the bags that get left behind.
- Along with your passport, keep the phone number of your country's embassy in the country you are in. If you do get in an emergency situation, call your embassy and tell them you are in need of consular services. This is what they are there for. They can help you with: police, getting proper health services, extending a visa because you can't leave the country when hooked up to an IV, local law and settlement after an accident, retrieving baggage, contacting your family at home, translation etc. etc. etc. They may become your lifeline and the sooner you get in touch with them the faster things will get better.
- If you are travelling for an extended period of time expect that you will have health problems while on holiday. Before you decide to go on a long trip, have a very thorough check-up to make sure there are no long-term illnesses that you really wouldn't want treated abroad.
Be careful out there. Be prepared for the worst and expect the best. Oh yah.. and have fun on your holiday!
