By Bob Gregory
Recently, a friend was venting because his elderly father
wants to take a trip to Italy. My friend
thought the trip would be a waste of money as his father currently lives in an
Assisted Living Facility and suffers from mild memory issues and needs a walker
to get around. I think he was stressed
the most by the fact his father didn’t want him to come along as he knew his
son would not be able to take the time off from work. He insisted his father was not physically
capable of making such a trip and he would jeopardize his health and waste
money needed for his future. I was
probably not the best sounding board as I like to travel and while I plan
carefully for retirement days, I also know that I may never see those days!
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| Cover of The Bucket List |
We all have a “bucket list” and I’m guessing this trip to
Italy is probably one of the top items on his father’s list. We generally do not grow younger and healthier
so you have to consider at what point some of the items on your bucket list
will never be fulfilled! You also have
to consider if the items on your list can reasonably be fulfilled financially
or practically. I spend a great deal of
time writing about finding the right senior facility to provide our elderly parents’
with a comfortable, safe and healthy retirement as that is a passion of
mine. However, I am also passionate
about making sure our elderly are happy and continue to enjoy life to its
fullest—so let’s discuss traveling abroad!
Considerations for
elder travel.
¶ If
you follow my blog, you know the very first consideration is the health of the
elder parent. Discuss the potential
travel plans with your parent’s physician and make sure they are healthy enough
to travel. Don’t be concerned about all
the details at this point as it may be a moot point if the doctor believes your
parent is not healthy enough to travel.
¶ Assuming
your parent is healthy enough for the travel, decide how much your parent can
comfortably spend without jeopardizing their retirement. This is the tough part as the budget will
determine how far they can travel and how long they can be gone. The budget should be set before you look at
brochures, cruises, airfares etc. and it should be determined solely on the
ability to continue living a comfortable life without the funds. Once you set
the “maximum” budget, then you can begin to see how far and long your parent
can travel.
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| Boeing 747-400 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
¶ Now
that you have a budget, check with a professional travel planner to help you
design a trip for your parent’s special needs.
Our population is growing older and travel destinations realize that and
have special packages for the elderly or physically impaired. A professional can help you locate the perfect “package” for your parent. There
are also many “senior” tours that specialize in helping the elderly travel and
some provide special assistants to accompany the group. If you are not going to be able to travel
with your parent, make sure they go in a group—especially if they have any
memory issues. Your travel planner can
also recommend travel companions that specialize in traveling with the elderly
with physical and memory challenges. All
these items cost money and thus the need for the budget!
¶ Once
you have narrowed down the list of destinations your parent can afford, it’s
time to choose. I’m not just referring
to choosing between different destinations, I’m also referring to choosing to
travel or stay home! Don’t be surprised
if the budget and the special assistance requirements cause your parent to give
pause and change their mind! Your parent
may have dreams of spending several weeks abroad leisurely touring where as the
budget and special needs may limit that trip to one week—of which two days are
spent in the air. You need to give them
a few days to think this through before writing the check which will most
likely be nonrefundable. I don’t suggest
you try to influence them to stay or go as it needs to be their decision.
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| English: The Venetian hotel (Las Vegas) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
After your parent has chosen a trip, you need to work
closely with the travel planner to make sure you have everything your parent
needs. The more involved you are in this
step, the more at ease you will be and your parent will be better
prepared. If possible, try to arrange a
meeting of some of the group members or special travel companions if they are
required. At this juncture, you need to
embrace the fact your parent is making the trip and make it as pleasurable and
exciting for them as possible. You may
have the opportunity to travel a lot in your lifetime, but this may be your
parent’s last big trip. Also, if the
budget doesn't allow for your parent to make that “bucket list” trip, then try
and improvise to help them realize part of the dream. For instance, how about a stay in the
Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas? Alright, it’s
not Venice, but it is a trip and they do have Gondola rides! As for my friend, his father is making a trip
to Italy in June and I’m not sure which of the two are more nervous. I may have a different blog for you after he
returns so stay tuned!
If would like a list Independent Living Facilities, Assisted
Living Facilities, Nursing Homes or any other type of Senior Facility, I hope
you will consider www.seniorfacilityfinder.com.
If you would like to contribute your thoughts and ideas,
please leave them in our comment section. We want to hear them. Helping people
care for themselves or their loved ones is what we care about.
We look forward to reading yours.
