strange situation
 

We have an odd situation going on.

As some might recall, as you were all very helpful - we are a family traveling on June 28 from Southern California to Paris - then onto South Africa, then to Rome prior to coming back to the US.

The primary reason, duration of our stay is in South Africa. We are going over to work with homes that have children who are orphans.

My daughters are 13 and 10. My 10 year old is a normal healthy child - very active et - She has come up with a strange virus over the last month or so. They have done lab work and she had Mono - but now they are concerned she also has Hep A. ??? We are in the process of having tests done - and should know by Monday or Tuesday.

Aside from the the obvious concern for her health, we are very concerned about our upcoming trip.

There is no way she would be in the orphanges and working with children with already compromised immune systems (most are HIV positive) -

Hep A seems to last several weeks - and I have no idea what her status will be at the date of our current travel...

We have a ton of money and yes, no trip insurance ... :::sigh::: apartment in Rome, hotels in Paris, tours et -

If she is not contagious and safe to travel to Europe - (I would not take her if she was still contagious of course) I have tickets to Paris - and back from Rome - and booked in Paris from June 28 - July 1 and then Rome from July 9-13 -

What would you book inbetween??? I am looking for suggests if that is what is comes down to a plan C so to speak.

Plan A is she is healthy and able to go (I am VERY nervous about taking her into Africa right now)

Plan B is stay home and eat the money

Plan C is go to Europe and book something inbetween.

If you have made it this far, thank you in advance for any suggestions!
Dawn

Hep A can be very mild in children, but you need to rely on your doctor's advice as to whether it is advisable for her to travel (as I'm sure you are).

Assuming that it's too late/impossible to cancel the flights and Rome/Paris bookings, I would wait and see how she does. You could start researching someplace in between to go for plan C (maybe Switzerland?) that would be restful and not too strenuous. But don't make any reservations for accomodations yet---you can wait a couple of weeks, until you are sure she will be OK to travel.

I think Africa is out of the question for now---the long flight would be too exhausting and stressful for her after this illness.

Nora -
Thank you so much for your response. I agree that Africa is simply out of the question. Hope my husband can see the reasoning.

Could he go to Africa while you stay in France with the girls? Are there other people that you know going to work in Africa as well?

dawn,

I agree that Africa is out of the question. I recently received an e-mail from Air France, and there are some good fares within Europe. You might want to check that. Go to their "within France" site, www.airfrance.fr.

dawn- This is a great example for your girls of how to make lemonade when life gives you lemons. What about getting their input on where they might like to go, then have an online race to find an apartment that is still open?

Hi Dawn,

Check with the airlines regarding cancelling your SA visit due to illness.

You might get a credit.

>Paris from June 28 - July 1 and then Rome from July 9-13.

Actually, this illness might not be as bad as it appears.

Instead of 3 nights in Paris, you now have at least a week.

Then fly www.myair.com from Paris ORY to Venice, and train to Rome on the 9th.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Hi Ira,
Always nice to "see" you!

I will check into what you suggested.

Blueswimmer,

Good suggestion. I know my 13 year old is going to be very upset - as the highlight of the trip for her was going to the orphanges - she has a sweet heart and did a whole report on AIDS.

Nora - I think I might try to limit the airtravel - and spend more time in Italy - or France..? Rather then heading to Switzerland - but thank you again for the replies. No, my dh will not go onto Africa without us - I am actually the person who wanted to go and arranged it with Acre of Love (they have a nice website for anyone interested in seeing where we were going). I met the founders several years ago - they live local (by me) and we have become friends and stayed in touch via fundraising et.
Toupary - thank you for the link. Our airfare to S.A. and back to Paris then Rome is with AirFrance. I will look into what their policies are - they are very pricey tickets.

Thanks everyone! I will keep you posted and if it turns to this - I am sure I will be BEGGING for housing suggestions as I am a BIG planner (have to be when traveling with a larger party imo)...

It still might not be too late to get trip insurance. Check with www.insuremytrip.com.

Actually, what I meant was to stop in Switzerland on your way by train from Paris to Rome---thus further limiting your air travel (or eliminating intra-Europe air travel alltogether).

Paris to Bern by TGV is 5 hours. The Alps are another hour or so beyond.

But adding extra time in Paris is a fine idea too. My daughters (that age) loved Paris.

regarding the trip insurance - everything I read indicated that trips canceled due to illness needed to be booked no less then 14 days after you pay/book...? I will research again.

I can't imagine that you could buy trip insurance now that would cover this problem.

However, it is worth talking to Air France about credit for the SA tickets toward a later trip---I have done this when illness forced a change in trip plans, with a note from my doctor. The airline was SAS, and they were very accomodating. I did not have trip insurance for that.

I hope Air France can be flexible about this for you.

I doubt very much if you can get trip insurance that will cover you for a circumstance that is already known to you.

It would certainly not be possible in Ireland or the UK, and I think the same broad principles would apply in the US.

Trip insurance covers unexpected illnesses. Some plans cover "pre-existing conditions" if purchased within a specific amount of time after your first booking/deposit. You have to read all the fine print, particularly regarding "exclusions".

On all the comments regarding trip insurance - that is what I thougth I had read as well - I have no intentions of trying to "scam" the insurance company - I actually abhor this type of thing and so does my dh.
In the future I will most likely purchase trip insurance esp. with the high cost of this trip and when traveling with children it seems many things can come up.

One of my many concerns is the health care in Jo'burg. I do not feel like it is a good idea to chance that

Nora - that might be a great idea - I did not realize it was on the route/way!

Having lived in Jo'burg, I can say that health care there is as good as anywhere, at least when we were there. However,the consensus is to not take your daughter there anyway and I agree with that.

Don't know how you feel about splitting the family for the African visit, but you and your younger daughter could spend the time in Paris while your older daughter and husband travel to Africa. All meeting up in Rome as originally planned.

Good luck and best wishes with what ever you decide to do.

Regarding the splitting up the family..if all else fails maybe dh could stay with the younger child and you could go on to Africa with your other daughter, since you did the original arranging. I can see where you have many things to consider to arrive at a solution that will suit everyone. Is there only your family in your group for the Africa portion. I know some of these trips involve a several people and often a doctor is in the group. Just a thought.

historytraveler - that is good to know. I guess all the reading I have done is for lower income/clinics perhaps? (regarding the health care) I apologize if my comment was offensive in anyway.

I talked to my dh about him going down to Africa with out dd and I - taking our older dd - and he is thinking about it.

Goingconcern - it is actually just our family - we are meeting up with the founders and traveling with them in country. My dh suggested what you did - (when I suggested what historytraveler did LOL) and I just feel weird about him caring for our 10 year old - I would be worried sick. I know, I know..silly - he is perfectly capable.

I'm so sorry your daughter is sick. I hope she gets well soon. I agree that it's wise not to bring her to Africa right now.

If this was my family (at that age) I'd have encouraged my husband to go on to Africa with the healthy ones and I'd have stayed with the sick one. He'd have encouraged me to do the same. The result would have been that we would stick together, though. There will be other times to do something like this. Do go to Europe and enjoy that!

Since it sounds like this trip is very important to you, think about splitting up. I know that would be hard, but also some time for father/daughter and mom/daughter individual bonding. Especially for the older one heading into (or already into) those teen years! How does the younger one do with Dad alone? Would they do well together or are their personalities too different ?

Given all the negative press that the TB+ guy got for flying, you might be able to talk the airlines into giving you a credit -

good luck!

canturbury - that is exactly what is happening LOL! He said I should go - I said he should go and neither of us want to go without one another and break up the family. We are already leaving our two older boys home here in the states - they have too much going on -

surfmom - the younger one is a Momma's girl and she and Dad often conflict (now you all know our family dynamics) :-)
He and our 13 year old get along very well - and she is a rather delightful 13 year old (I know odd - as I have a 16 and 18 year old that are not joining us on this trip).
My dh immediately thought of TB dude... I will see what comes back on Tuesday from the Dr. regarding her status - but we have both agreed it is not worth the risk to her health to bring her into S.A. at this time. Two night were on a Safari (stressing over that money!) and I just do not want her in a compromised position when she is already tired...

Maybe you should go down to Nice. Hepatitus can wipe a person's energy right out of them. It might be nice for your daughter to lie in the sun, swim and just be at a beach for a while.

I was wondering about other parts of France and thought of Nice but know nothing about it. I have 4,700.00 on Airfrance - GULP - and see that they have vacation packages as well - we are hoping to be able to use the money towards a hotel as well - I will call them in the am - their customer service was closed.
Any thoughts on Nice for a family of 4? Laying on the beach is a favorite thing of mine!

There are so many beautiful hotel/resorts geared towards families. You'll find them in Spain (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and the coastal areas), Greece (Crete, Chalkiki, and many other islands) and a few in the South of France. These resorts offer activities for every age group, are located on beaches, offer full board and even have evening entertainment for the whole family. The Robinson Club has such resorts, but there are many more.

We love Nice, Menton, Villefranche (our favorite beach is in Roquebrune). We normally rent an apartment instead of staying in hotels but in Nice you have such a wide choice. Menton, Villefranche are much quieter but a quick train or bus ride away. Your girls might like rollerblading on the Promenade des Anglais. And day trips to all sorts of wonderful places on the Côte d'Azur.

If you are a fan of the beach, what about the Atlantic coast of France -- I spent a summer in Royen as a high school exchange student. It was much more of a family environment and where a lot of French famies go to vacation. This was years ago, but I would have to imagine that prices are much more reasonable than Cote d'Azur. The beaches were much nicer than the pebbles of Nice. We did some day-trips to Bordeaux, and areas around.

There probably isn't as much to do, but that might be actually a better choice so you aren't 'tempted' into doing too much :)

If you do split the family (one of you goes to Africa with one daughter, one stays in Europe with the other), that you have each have a letter from the other parent authorising you to travel with the child. (Those with children might know better exactly what the letter should say and whether or not it should be notarised, etc.) You might also want to get some recommendations in advance for English-speaking pediatricians in the places you'll be staying in Europe with your 13-year-old (and perhaps a doctor's letter authorising you to travel with the 13-year old, if the doctor says it's ok to do so).

As others have mentioned, even if you can't obtain a full refund for your tickets, there is a good chance that you can cancel tickets and get a credit note (for use at a later date with the airline), minus a handling fee of usually about $100-200 per ticket. Not the best solution, but not a complete less of money, either.

Although it would be inappropriate to get trip insurance to cover the cost of cancelling the South Africa portion of your trip, you should investigate getting travellers' health insurance for the European portion of the trip with your daughter. You might be able to find a policy that would cover her pre-existing condition and if so, it would be good to have coverage in Europe.

surfmom - the name of the area is Royen? I will research it..thank you!

Thanks to everyone for the advice suggestions - I am working on trying to sort through it all -

Yes, I am also looking into the health insurance overseas as well

I suspect surfmom meant Royan.

Royan - that would be correct (thanks Padraig). sorry, typing too fast and not proofing.

Royan is more of a French resort, whereas the Riviera is more international. When I lived there, I remember it being a beach-oriented town -- that's what we did. If you are truly looking for more R&R and less 'touring' it may be the place. Can anyone add some more insight since it has been a few years? (I'm afraid to do the math, it will make me feel old).

any luck with the airlines ?

Surfmom - NO luck with the airlines..NONE - I have decided to offical hate Orbtiz LOL -
Trying to look at the upside. I have 4,700.00 airline credit on Airfrance that has to be used by Oct. of 2008 - might be the ONLY way I get my dh to book another trip so it could turn out to be a good thing. Lemons to leomanaide? :-)
Budget wise today it is not a good thing!
While in Africa we were doing to a 2 night safari so working on getting back that 5,200.00 as well - you can see that I am up to my eyeballs in $$$ stress...

I think we are going to try to go to where my dh is from:
Castellammare del Golfo...I have to do the research et - but he still has some family there - we have the time now so it would be a treat perhaps for him.
It is in Italy..

dawn, I replied to your other thread but I am posting to this one in order to bookmark it. I am so sorry for all the trouble you are having, and I hope you will keep us posted as to your progress.

Thank you Pm!