The long-awaited, thoroughly planned, and incredibly overdue France trip actually came to reality!
The planning started after my fusion surgery in January of 2021. Days after my surgery, my mom and I began talking about this trip from my hospital bed. It was a good distraction while in terrible pain and symbolic of hope and better times to come.
The trip research was fun. For many reasons, I knew the destination had to be France. However, deciding on where to go and what to do was tricky, as there is so much to see in that beautiful country. Ultimately, we decided on a combination of the big city (Paris), the countryside (Provence), and the seaside (French Rivera & Corsica).
Since 2021, the trip continued to be delayed and rescheduled because of new medical issues, surgeries, and complications. It was planned for my 18th birthday, but my additional fusion and tethered cord surgeries left me bedbound. Somedays I felt the trip planning might be an exercise in futility versus an experience that would become a reality.
A month before this trip, I was hospitalized for two weeks. My parents were close to canceling once again, but my body miraculously rallied and we cautiously proceeded with the trip. My mom, sister, and Millie came on the Paris / Provence part of the trip and then my dad and brothers joined the seaside part of it. While I didn’t have the strength to do everything I wanted to do, I was able to see and experience a lot more than I thought I would.
Traveling internationally with a feeding tube and the issues that come with chronic illnesses is not easy (more on this later), but I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to be with my family on the trip of my dreams.
I want to see the world. To do this, I am going to have to get out of my comfort zone a bit and learn to balance caution and adventure. There are going to be some consequences for over-exertion and it’s a learning process to understand smart risk.
Does my body hurt? Yes.
Is my soul happy? Yes.
Was it worth it? Absolutely!
