MeandIan
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- May2018
Hi everyone. Just to let you know how it has gone since our last post.
Ian had the angiogram yesterday, with better news than I had anticipated. He has a small blockage in one of the small branches of the coronary arteries and a much bigger partial blockage higher up. He didn’t get a stent because the blood flow is uninterrupted and equal on both sides of the lesion. He will be on blood thinners and cholesterol tablets, probably for life,with regular checkups. Ian was quite shocked when he was told he had heart disease because he is very active and busy all the time. He’s better today with the news. The cardiologist said probably we could’ve done the Camino with little discomfort but there was also the possibility of shooting an embolus. We are very grateful for the early diagnosis and treatment, as well as the knowledge. Just shows that you don’t know what’s happening inside your body. btw we have kept up with our walking, with and without packs averaging 10km at a time.
Thank you everyone for the well wishes, prayers and support,and also for the sharing of all the personal stories. They actually gave such a psychological boost.
Something that I thought worth mentioning was the travel insurance and how it worked, given that there was an intervention before the trip.
We had done something we never do. We booked through a travel agency because we meandered in and got caught up in the excitement of our walk. Any queries or changes thereafter have to be made through the agency, within a certain period to minimise a penalty, you cannot go direct to the airlines. We were due to fly out 29/4/18, which is Sunday. Ian’s angio was booked for 26/4/18. Irrespective of the outcome, we had to reschedule. Changing the dates were $400 each plus the difference in airfare on the new date, which we decided to be early September. The cost came to $1166. Cancellation was $900 per person. Our original flights were $1400 each. If you have booked online and dealing with the airlines, the costs are less than a third! Our insurance policy was $1200 for 87 days. If you claim from the insurance then the policy becomes null and void and with subsequent travel you have a pre existing condition and you get a loading. If you don’t claim from the insurance, and carry the cost of changing, then the original policy, with no pre existing condition, is still in force. The loading will come at a new travel booking. We opted for the latter. The travel agency was unsympathetic. Our total loss was $1166 and a lot of frustration and huge four letter words on my part. Ian is a much better person than I.
I hope I’ve explained this adequately but still maintain that it is vital to have insurance because you will have peace of mind while traveling, but know that you will still be out of pocket.
We also had to change the order of our plans. We had intended to go visit my son in Croatia after the Camino, now we’ll go before we start. But overall, considering the outcome, we are not unhappy. We were in a safe, controlled environment with the best care and we are very grateful.
So once again, thank you to everyone as well as to this forum. We appreciate every single message!
Ian had the angiogram yesterday, with better news than I had anticipated. He has a small blockage in one of the small branches of the coronary arteries and a much bigger partial blockage higher up. He didn’t get a stent because the blood flow is uninterrupted and equal on both sides of the lesion. He will be on blood thinners and cholesterol tablets, probably for life,with regular checkups. Ian was quite shocked when he was told he had heart disease because he is very active and busy all the time. He’s better today with the news. The cardiologist said probably we could’ve done the Camino with little discomfort but there was also the possibility of shooting an embolus. We are very grateful for the early diagnosis and treatment, as well as the knowledge. Just shows that you don’t know what’s happening inside your body. btw we have kept up with our walking, with and without packs averaging 10km at a time.
Thank you everyone for the well wishes, prayers and support,and also for the sharing of all the personal stories. They actually gave such a psychological boost.
Something that I thought worth mentioning was the travel insurance and how it worked, given that there was an intervention before the trip.
We had done something we never do. We booked through a travel agency because we meandered in and got caught up in the excitement of our walk. Any queries or changes thereafter have to be made through the agency, within a certain period to minimise a penalty, you cannot go direct to the airlines. We were due to fly out 29/4/18, which is Sunday. Ian’s angio was booked for 26/4/18. Irrespective of the outcome, we had to reschedule. Changing the dates were $400 each plus the difference in airfare on the new date, which we decided to be early September. The cost came to $1166. Cancellation was $900 per person. Our original flights were $1400 each. If you have booked online and dealing with the airlines, the costs are less than a third! Our insurance policy was $1200 for 87 days. If you claim from the insurance then the policy becomes null and void and with subsequent travel you have a pre existing condition and you get a loading. If you don’t claim from the insurance, and carry the cost of changing, then the original policy, with no pre existing condition, is still in force. The loading will come at a new travel booking. We opted for the latter. The travel agency was unsympathetic. Our total loss was $1166 and a lot of frustration and huge four letter words on my part. Ian is a much better person than I.
I hope I’ve explained this adequately but still maintain that it is vital to have insurance because you will have peace of mind while traveling, but know that you will still be out of pocket.
We also had to change the order of our plans. We had intended to go visit my son in Croatia after the Camino, now we’ll go before we start. But overall, considering the outcome, we are not unhappy. We were in a safe, controlled environment with the best care and we are very grateful.
So once again, thank you to everyone as well as to this forum. We appreciate every single message!