The first time I flew to Australia last year I was terrified of the effect the traveling would have on me. I prepared like crazy, researching and taking every known precaution I could. After all, I was going to arrive and be picked up at the airport by my SL partner, who I had never met before IRL. Last thing I wanted was to roll of the plane looking like something the cat dragged in and barely able to move for all the pain. You see, this upper body chronic pain condition I have can get extremely aggravated by flying. Even a 2 hour hop to San Francisco has been known to set me back for days. 24 hours? I was afraid I'd be dead on arrival. However, after a few weeks of dedicated planning and a helpful naturopath, I was able to concoct the following plan:
- iTouch with lots of Boards of Canada to lull me into a hazy dazy sleep
- Hoody with long sleeves and extreme coziness of fabric.
- Ok, this one is my own personal stroke of genius i believe - two sets of fuffy socks loosely rubber-banded together to stuff *into* the shirt sleeves, thereby protecting forearms from evil hard plastic arm-rests that irritate the hell out of my RSI-inflicted upper body.
- Mega inflatable neck-rest that *actually* supports your head rather than tricking it into believing it's supported and flailing around like a bobblehead. This puppy actually lets you snap it closed in the front. Oh sure, you look like you broke your neck, but that is no consideration in this matter.
- Drugs - Tylenol with codeine as a pre-emptive strike against accumulating pains and Ambien for sleeeeep oh and possibly a touch of Xanax as well.
- Little wire unfolding bookstand thingy so reading ergonomics don't suck quite so badly
- Melbourne/Victoria lost planet guide to read because that's all I'm going to be thinking about anyway.
- Compression socks put on in Seattle and not taken off until landing in Australia... ok you feel about 90 years old when you put them on but it's SO worth it in the end. No pooling of blood in legs and ankles FTW.
- Eyecovers. Gum. Earplugs.
- Ticket on Qantas not United because they really know what they are doing and have yummy foods, better seats, good service, and an awesome set of movies to watch embedded in the seatback in front of you.
- Pic of my lovely partner to keep me company <3
- Mini sketchbook, pencil, and pen for emergency idea-jotting.
- Toothbrush, hairbrush, makeups, a few handy-wipes for attempting to clean up a little before emerging from the belly of the beast.
Oooo this is so awesome! I wish I'd have been wise enough about the compression socks, my ankles were five times normal size, even while i did the necessary moving around stuff. :D Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI doubted it at first, but my naturopath was insistent and I'm so glad she was!
ReplyDeleteFantastic advice. I think all I took, when I flew to Europe (about 30 hours), was a book, pillow and some lollies.
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