Page 7 - Scleroderma Support Group NZ Newsletter Autumn 2017 - Issue 31

Holiday Happiness

Have scleroderma - will travel - Barbara's Asian and European adventure

Armed with trepidation and a 3-litre click-clack of medication
I went through customs. "Put your things on the conveyer
belt, shoes off, belt off, jacket off, wait, get scanned, then
proceed." Then, plonk your butt onto a seat and put them
all back on. Through the first check point - there were to be
many more. I took a lot of medication for the 5-week trip. I
took an extra week's worth because you just never know.

Travelling on Air New Zealand I thought the seats were very
hard. I sat on the little neck-pillow they provide, which helped,
but I still had sore hips when I arrived at Ho Chi Minh City. I
didn’t mind the travelling, other than being boring. I also wore
compression socks to reduce swelling in my feet and ankles
but it took me 15-minutes to get them on. Another negative
from Air New Zealand was that I had ordered a ‘special’ meal
suitable for my dietary needs, but never got it.

If scleroderma makes your joints ache, I recommend the
kind of climate we met in Vietnam: around 32˚ with 80%+
humidity. I was almost pain free. I paced myself there, doing
only what I could manage and it paid off. Food can be a
problem with me, but I was lucky. My daughter lives in
Vietnam and a local friend wrote in Vietnamese that I couldn’t
eat onions. My daughter photographed it and texted it to me.
In restaurants I showed it to waitresses to sort out a meal I
After Prague we went by train to Vienna. It was good
could safely eat.
transport, warm, with good seating and a view of the
Through the customs strip-tease again and from the heat of countryside. Vienna was just as cold as Prague. Thermals
Asia to the wintery cold of Europe was a big shock. Sitting on needed again along with gloves, scarf and hat. If we went out
an open-topped, double decker bus in Paris in -2˚ with a wind at night I got a cab and met the others there. I was too slow
chill factor of probably -8˚ while taking photos was difficult. to walk and that was a lot easier than being exhausted by the
Having Reynaud’s would give you quite a bit of trouble. Your time I got to the restaurant. During the day we did our own
gloves would be off and on the whole time and fingers and thing so I paced myself, without problems. The shops sold
toes would be white and numb. Lucky me, that's one I don’t plenty of warm clothing, so if you forgot something then there
suffer from but my hands still froze. was plenty to choose from.

Thermals, boots, gloves and hat were essential as we moved From Vienna we flew to the slightly warmer climes of
east for Christmas in the Czech Republic. Prague is a beautiful Cannes. No thermals needed here but still gloves and scarf.
city in which everyone is rugged up. It takes so long to get all Temperatures were above zero, only just, but the chill was not
your clothes on, but you truly need them. As we walked round the same as before. The streets were on an incline going down
the Christmas markets in the old town square, drinking mulled towards the Mediterranean Sea. An effort coming up, and
wine, it was a world away from Christmas in NZ. using another set of muscles. contd next page

www.scleroderma.org.nz