Parkinson's

[shorti503]

My mom was diagnosed with early Parkinson's. Her dream vacation is a cruise to Alaska. We are trying to make this happen for 2017. My question is have you or anyone you know cruised with Parkinson's. She has trouble with her equilibrium and I'm afraid being on the ship would make that worse, but would love to be able to surprise her with the trip of her dreams if I knew it wouldn't make her symptoms worse. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Essiesmom]

The effects of Parkinson's are progressive. I would discuss this with her doctor. It might be that he/she recommend you do the things she has always dreamed of sooner rather than later. You also might want to investigate mobility aids, from walkers to scooters. EM

[cb at sea]

In Alaska, rough seas are not the norm....normally, you're in an enclosed strait..not lots of rough seas. This sound great for her. If she needs a walker or something..no worries...do it now, before it gets worse.

[Keith1010]

Just asking but is there anyway you can do the cruise this year rather than next yer.

 

I only ask because how she is next year could be a lot different than now.

 

So nice you plan to take her on a cruise.

 

Keith

[MommaBear55]

Her equilibrium will definitely be worse on a ship. There are also lots of thresholds to lift her feet over. She should talk to her provider. Physical therapy may help with balance and motor skills. She may not be ready for a cane or walker, but this might be a time to have one available. I also think a wheelchair may be helpful for sightseeing trips.

[Going Coastal]

My mother had Parkinson's and I currently use a rollator

Someone may be very steady on her feet at home yet need some additional support on a moving ship. A rolling walker will not only support her but give her something to grip which sometimes relieves hand tremors. It also clears a little space around her. Everyone's condition is slightly different so you will know best what might work for her. All of us can only give you some ideas that have worked for us and our loved ones. Hope your trip is wonderful.

[LesaL]

I absolutely would not cruise without my rollater. I don't use it much in daily life, but is a necessity aboard a ship. It is actually liberating rather than being cumbersome or limiting. Hint: I travel with a little rubber doorstop.

[Nancyquilts]

Hint: I travel with a little rubber doorstop.

 

Great hint:D. It would make it much easier to get the rollator through the heavy doors.

[xxoocruiser]

My mother had Parkinson's and I currently use a rollator

Someone may be very steady on her feet at home yet need some additional support on a moving ship. A rolling walker will not only support her but give her something to grip which sometimes relieves hand tremors. It also clears a little space around her. Everyone's condition is slightly different so you will know best what might work for her. All of us can only give you some ideas that have worked for us and our loved ones. Hope your trip is wonderful.

 

A Walker is certainly a good suggestion. However a standard rolling walker is not generally recommended for Parkinson Patients. The Walker recommended by most PT's and Medical Professionals for Parkinson Patients is the U-Step. Unlike standard rolling walkers that roll until the hand brakes are applied the U-Step only moves when the hand levers are engaged which offers more stability. With that said before purchasing any mobility equipment the individual should be evaluated by a PT to ensure that the correct item is being purchased for the well being and safety of the end user.

[Splinter]

Would she be willing to take a lightweight manual wheelchair which someone else could push? Depending on how progressed her Parkinson's is at the time, it would be much safer than trying to use a walker or other aid, esp. if she is not used to doing so. It can also be used ashore and for in airports, etc. You can purchase one at home and take it with you (no extra charge on the plane).

 

Also, if you plan to do the Inside Passage, try to book a cruise from Vancouver rather than San Francisco or Seattle. The former goes INSIDE (on the east) of Vancouver Island, where there is little swell or waves, while the latter two go OUTSIDE (off the east coast) of Vancouver Island, and the seas can be rough there. For the same reason, avoid a cruise with Sitka as a port (also because it is a tender port).

 

Also, please book a wheelchair accessible cabin. The one step up into the bathroom, esp. at night, will be problematic for her now, much less if the Parkinson's symptoms progress.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Splinter

[sueernieb]

I have had Parkinsons for over 8 years and I must admit that is getting harder to cruise. I would try to get a trip for this year if you can. I use a walker when the ship is in port and a wheel chair when the ship is moving. I also take the wheel chair off the ship.

My big problem is balance. Having to use the restroom on a plane is hard especially when they will not let anyone help you. Showering when the ship is in port is also necessary. I hope you can schedule a cruise that is wonderful.

 

Sue

[gingin410]

We have already taken one cruise knowing he had Parkinsons. The 2 cruises before, he was having difficulties keeping up on excursions...now we know why. And, we are booked on two more cruises. He uses a walker and when it got a bit rocky on-board, would just lock the brakes and sit on the walker's seat. We were able to rent a wheelchair on-board with Carnival. Celebrity is who we cruise with most, and they have wheelchairs available when you are in port for your use once you're off the ship.

 

As to our cabin; we've found the regular-sized cabin to be better for him than as accessible one. That's because with the closer-in space, there's almost always something to hold on to. I also take one of those suction bars you can get at Lowes, most drug stores, Bed Bath and Beyond.... I put it on the long mirror (smooth surface). These can also be used in hotels rooms. Great little $30 item that's not too heavy and doesn't take up much suitcase space.

[SeagoingMom]

I know this is a pretty old thread, but it seemed the best one on which to ask this question:

 

Does anyone have information about travel insurance that covers Parkinson's as a pre-existing condition? A friend who had been planning to cruise has recently received a Parkinson's diagnosis and wants to know what that will mean re: buying travel insurance. I have volunteered to do a little research into this and pass on the info.

 

He is concerned about finding such insurance, and what it will cost...A quick internet search on this topic found several UK companies that specialize in this coverage, but my friend lives in the US.

 

Is it necessary to buy specialized insurance, or do regular medical travel insurance policies cover this?

 

Thanks for your help.

[xxoocruiser]

I know this is a pretty old thread, but it seemed the best one on which to ask this question:

 

Does anyone have information about travel insurance that covers Parkinson's as a pre-existing condition? A friend who had been planning to cruise has recently received a Parkinson's diagnosis and wants to know what that will mean re: buying travel insurance. I have volunteered to do a little research into this and pass on the info.

 

He is concerned about finding such insurance, and what it will cost...A quick internet search on this topic found several UK companies that specialize in this coverage, but my friend lives in the US.

 

Is it necessary to buy specialized insurance, or do regular medical travel insurance policies cover this?

Thanks for your help.

 

No specialized insurance is necessary but the timing with regards to purchasing travel insurance to have a pre-existing waiver included is critical. Travel Insurance policies for USA citizens must be purchased with a specified numbers of days usually within 10-14 days ( varies based on insurance company from the initial booking date in order to have pre-existing conditions waived. Nationwide Insurance has a few cruise policies that will cover pre-existing conditions provide the policy is purchase prior to having made the final payment. Not only is having pre-existing conditions important to be covered but having at having emergency medical evacuation coverage is also necessary. The cost of having to airlift someone from the ship runs in excess of US$25K. The following websites will assist you in the search :

 

http://www.insuremytrip.com

http://www.squaremouth.com

http://www.quotewright.com

http://travel.nationwide.com/plans-cruise.html

[gingin410]

My husband had a "medical crisis" while on-board and in the middle of the Atlantic on our way to Portugal (than France, and GB). WE spent 6 days at sea with him stuck in the cabin and then had to deal long distance with the agency once in Lisbon. Suffice it to say, we have learned the hard way about using travel insurance. We are grateful we had it as we got some of the costs involved back. However, you have to read the policy carefully and be prepared to deal with the agency as soon as you can notify them.

 

There are two very important things you must do if you have a medical problem that requires you return home. The doctors in Lisbon would only certify my husband was "fit to fly" or the insurance folks wouldn't pay our costs. However, the problem (BP related) didn't "show itself" so we couldn't get the doctors to to certify in writing that he needed to return home ASAP. Instead, they wanted us to catch up with the cruise plus continue the tour we booked after.

 

We finally insisted we come home ourselves. We had to pay our own hotels (4 nights in Lisbon, 2 in London) and airfare home. We also lost all the on-going trip costs of the rip to Berlin we'd planned after.

 

My husband ended up in the hospital once home. He actually spent 3 days in the hospital followed by 6 weeks in an inpatient rehab hospital. He then had two months of PT at home. Now, he's finally starting to really improve but it will be a long time gaining his strength back.

 

W applied for and got a good part of our lost costs back from the travel agency. However, the key terms you need to know should a medical crisis occur on-board are fit-to-fly and "must return home immediately for medical care.

 

In the future, I am going to buy cruise travel insurance from the cruiseline directly. Their doctors said we needed to go home ASAP and having them say that on-board should be sufficient for the company's insurance. We dealt with another company.

 

Also, be aware the doctors on-board are not PD specialists. They also did not have the medical knowledge or medications necessary for the condition my husband had developed. They did their best, but the first doctor my husband saw had to look Azelect up on google as she'd never heard of it. Try to foresee anything that might come up and be as prepared as you can.

[xxoocruiser]

My husband had a "medical crisis" while on-board and in the middle of the Atlantic on our way to Portugal (than France, and GB). WE spent 6 days at sea with him stuck in the cabin and then had to deal long distance with the agency once in Lisbon. Suffice it to say, we have learned the hard way about using travel insurance. We are grateful we had it as we got some of the costs involved back. However, you have to read the policy carefully and be prepared to deal with the agency as soon as you can notify them.

 

There are two very important things you must do if you have a medical problem that requires you return home. The doctors in Lisbon would only certify my husband was "fit to fly" or the insurance folks wouldn't pay our costs. However, the problem (BP related) didn't "show itself" so we couldn't get the doctors to to certify in writing that he needed to return home ASAP. Instead, they wanted us to catch up with the cruise plus continue the tour we booked after.

 

We finally insisted we come home ourselves. We had to pay our own hotels (4 nights in Lisbon, 2 in London) and airfare home. We also lost all the on-going trip costs of the rip to Berlin we'd planned after.

 

My husband ended up in the hospital once home. He actually spent 3 days in the hospital followed by 6 weeks in an inpatient rehab hospital. He then had two months of PT at home. Now, he's finally starting to really improve but it will be a long time gaining his strength back.

 

W applied for and got a good part of our lost costs back from the travel agency. However, the key terms you need to know should a medical crisis occur on-board are fit-to-fly and "must return home immediately for medical care.

 

In the future, I am going to buy cruise travel insurance from the cruiseline directly. Their doctors said we needed to go home ASAP and having them say that on-board should be sufficient for the company's insurance. We dealt with another company.

 

Also, be aware the doctors on-board are not PD specialists. They also did not have the medical knowledge or medications necessary for the condition my husband had developed. They did their best, but the first doctor my husband saw had to look Azelect up on google as she'd never heard of it. Try to foresee anything that might come up and be as prepared as you can.

 

RE: "Fit to Fly' This typically applies to all travel insurance even that which is purchased directly from the cruise lines.

 

RE: "Purchasing Insurance from the Cruise Line" - You need to read the complete policy prior to purchasing as most Travel Insurance policies purchased directly through the cruise line do not include a pre-existing condition waiver. There's typically a 180 day look back period .

[SeagoingMom]

No specialized insurance is necessary but the timing with regards to purchasing travel insurance to have a pre-existing waiver included is critical. Travel Insurance policies for USA citizens must be purchased with a specified numbers of days usually within 10-14 days ( varies based on insurance company from the initial booking date in order to have pre-existing conditions waived. Nationwide Insurance has a few cruise policies that will cover pre-existing conditions provide the policy is purchase prior to having made the final payment. Not only is having pre-existing conditions important to be covered but having at having emergency medical evacuation coverage is also necessary. The cost of having to airlift someone from the ship runs in excess of US$25K. The following websites will assist you in the search :

 

www.insuremytrip.com

www.squaremouth.com

www.quotewright.com

http://travel.nationwide.com/plans-cruise.html

 

Thanks so much for the info! BTW, my friend has not bought a cruise -- had been thinking about it, but now, wondering if it is going to be feasible...

 

The thing I don't understand is the "waiver." Doesn't that mean that insurance won't cover anything related to the pre-existing condition? Since Parkinson's is a movement disorder, couldn't any slip or fall, for example -- and any costs resulting from any possible injury -- be "blamed" on the pre-existing condition, and therefore not covered?

 

I think my friend is wanting to know how to make sure that no matter what might happen on board, it would be covered.

 

Of course, my friend and his wife are going to have to figure all this out for themselves, but I will definitely pass on the info you've shared here. The travel insurance company names are a great help!

 

Meanwhile, I'll try to convince my friend to join CC! ;)

[Shawski]

As I understand it, trip insurance would not normally cover a pre-existing condition. However, if you purchase the insurance within a specified period, usually 10 to 14 days after deposit, the non-coverage of the preexisting condition is waived and the insurance will cover a pre-existing condition, including such things as Parkinsons.

 

My DH has Parkinsons, and we have been very careful to purchase our trip insurance within the required period. Thankfully, we have never had to use it.

 

There is a web site called Tripinsurancestore.com. In addition to being able to purchase trip insurance on that site, there are really good articles on lots of things, including the pre-existing condition waiver.

 

One thing to be very careful of is to make sure that the entire non-refundable cost of your trip is insured. Otherwise, the waiver will not apply. If you add on things such as non-refundable excursions, airfare, hotel, etc. after you originally purchase the insurance, you need to make sure that those items are reflected in your total cost of trip for insurance purposes. We almost learned the hard way about this. For example, if you originally only insure the cost of your deposit, when you make final payment you need to up the insurance to make sure all of that is covered, and this needs to be done within 10 to 14 days. After final payment, if you book a non-refundable hotel room or an excursion, the cost of the also needs to be added and you need to increase your insurance to cover it. Talk to the people at Tripinsurance store. They are very helpful.

 

I hope this has not confused you too much.

[gingin410]

Fortunately, we had purchased out trip insurance before my husband was even diagnosed with it let alone the condition that developed while on-board. What developed wasn't even officially the result of Parkinson's but one of the possible neurological conditions a brain-based disease might develop. It certainly wasn't pre-existing. We also had prepaid for tours once in Europe that we had to cancel plus lost all of what we'd paid. However, our travel insurance covered both trip interruption and cancellation.

 

Our biggest problem was the doctor's in Portugal said my husband was fit to fly, but did not recommend going directly home. The travel agency kept insisting we return to the ship and do the rest of our tours. I was the one that said no and they did arrange our air travel home. We had to pay for that air travel; however, we got an exceptionally lower cost ticket than had we done it ourselves. Once home, and after my husband was hospitalized, I was able to get his Parkinson's neurologist to write a letter verifying that he had to come home. Finally we got a goodly portion of what we'd lost cost-wise for tours and airfare. It took about 3 months for the settlement to occur.

 

Let your friend understand we've met many other patients on-board with Parkinson's; some who've had it many years and don't even use a walker. The big thing to remember is that the ship's medical staff are primary care physicians so don't understand Parkinson't on a very deep level. Also, getting care in a foreign country's emergency room has some real drawbacks. Still, we will be cruising again once my husband's health is really improved.

[xxoocruiser]

Thanks so much for the info! BTW, my friend has not bought a cruise -- had been thinking about it, but now, wondering if it is going to be feasible...

 

The thing I don't understand is the "waiver." Doesn't that mean that insurance won't cover anything related to the pre-existing condition? Since Parkinson's is a movement disorder, couldn't any slip or fall, for example -- and any costs resulting from any possible injury -- be "blamed" on the pre-existing condition, and therefore not covered?

 

It appears that you're not familiar with the definition of "Waiver" which is to relinquish. Therefore if the policy is purchased within the specified time period from the initial booking date ( generally 10-14 days depending on policy) the standard pre-existing condition clause will be waived (relinquished) thus covering any pre-existing conditions. The websites that I previous posted all stated the time requirements for purchasing the policy to have pre-existing conditions covered.

Edited August 28, 2016 by xxoocruiser

[SeagoingMom]

It appears that you're not familiar with the definition of "Waiver" which is to relinquish. Therefore if the policy is purchased within the specified time period from the initial booking date ( generally 10-14 days depending on policy) the standard pre-existing condition clause will be waived (relinquished) thus covering any pre-existing conditions. The websites that I previous posted all stated the time requirements for purchasing the policy to have pre-existing conditions covered.

Well, I apparently did not understand the term "waiver" in its insurance context. Since in common use word means "an act or instance of waiving a right or claim," I assumed it was the insured who "waived" the right to claim on the pre-existing condition, not the insurer. My mistake. Thanks for educating me.

[SeagoingMom]

As I understand it, trip insurance would not normally cover a pre-existing condition. However, if you purchase the insurance within a specified period, usually 10 to 14 days after deposit, the non-coverage of the preexisting condition is waived and the insurance will cover a pre-existing condition, including such things as Parkinsons.

 

My DH has Parkinsons, and we have been very careful to purchase our trip insurance within the required period. Thankfully, we have never had to use it.

 

There is a web site called Tripinsurancestore.com. In addition to being able to purchase trip insurance on that site, there are really good articles on lots of things, including the pre-existing condition waiver.

 

One thing to be very careful of is to make sure that the entire non-refundable cost of your trip is insured. Otherwise, the waiver will not apply. If you add on things such as non-refundable excursions, airfare, hotel, etc. after you originally purchase the insurance, you need to make sure that those items are reflected in your total cost of trip for insurance purposes. We almost learned the hard way about this. For example, if you originally only insure the cost of your deposit, when you make final payment you need to up the insurance to make sure all of that is covered, and this needs to be done within 10 to 14 days. After final payment, if you book a non-refundable hotel room or an excursion, the cost of the also needs to be added and you need to increase your insurance to cover it. Talk to the people at Tripinsurance store. They are very helpful.

 

I hope this has not confused you too much.

Thank you for your helpful explanation. Not confused at all now! I will pass on this info with confidence that with it, my friends can move on with their cruise decision-making!

 

This whole discussion has been interesting for me, too, as -- who knows-- someday I may need to make use of this knowledge myself. I have begun to notice that I am not, unaccountably, getting any younger...:rolleyes: