As we approach Fathers Day, its hard to believe that two years ago, Alexandra was still in the hospital recovering from her Fontan during what was the most hellacious month of our lives! Now, two years later its funny that my biggest stress has become where to go on vacation! I know people who have already taken their vacations and many more who have had their vacations planned from start to finish for months now. Were still trying to figure it all out.
We could drive to a beach just a few hours away and have a fine time. However, now that Alexandras cardiologist has given us permission for her to fly, it opens a whole new world of possibilities. That being said, the words If you fly, be prepared for her to turn blue spoken by her cardiologist some time ago still ring in my head. Therefore, if we fly, we would want it to be a short, non-stop flight to see how she tolerates it. Of course, flying has become such a hassle with all the additional security, plus Alexandra has a couple of compounded medications which require refrigeration, which further complicates airline travel. While all this narrows down the options, I have still spent countless hours on the internet becoming downright obsessed with trying to find some ideal place that provides everything we want at a decent price. Every time I come up with one idea, I find numerous reasons why it could present problems. Most frequently, I think about how quickly we could get to a decent hospital should something happen.
Last summer during a weekend trip to the mountains, Alexandra got what turned out to be food poisoning on the way there. At first we only knew that she couldnt stop throwing up and was showing all the signs of dehydration. We ended up having to take a 1 ½ hour ambulance ride (in the rain, no less!) to the nearest hospital where she had to be hooked up to an IV. We spent most of the night there until she was released only to have to drive back 1 1/2 hours to where we were staying in the mountains. That experience certainly put a damper on the rest of the weekend but also haunts me as I try to plan this years vacation!
Of course, while Im driving myself absolutely crazy over wanting to take her someplace special, the reality is all she really cares about is that shes with Mommy and Daddy, and the hotel has a pool!
I would love to hear how others have decided on where to go for vacation!