Travel to the Philippines - with dementia

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Our family of four (including Jerry, a participant in the DCSL Adult Day Health Program) traveled to the Philippines for three weeks. We had a lot of anxiety over how Jerry (Dad) would handle the travel, especially jet lag.

Getting there

Our itinerary:

• RDU to New York JFK: 2 hour flight, with a 9 hour layover
• JFK to Doha, Qatar: 12 hour flight, with a 5 hour layover
• DOH to Manila, Philippines: 8 hour flight with a 3-night layover in Metro Manila
• MNL to Iloilo, Philippines: 1 hour flight.

We always take a long time to prepare for this kind of travel: we bring plenty of luggage and gadgets. Each of us had a carry-on with a personal bag inside, and one large checked bag.

We notified the airport and airlines in advance about our situation and requested help for Dad. We also registered for TSA Pre-Check, since we were worried about delays passing through security. Pre-Check made for fast and easy security passage. Registering for Pre-Check was not hard, though Dad had a lot of trouble positioning his fingerprints and, especially, signing his name. He did not have to answer any questions without assistance. The Pre-Check agent at Staples was patient and got us through the process with minimal drama.

The airports provided wheelchairs: this was one of the most important factors in helping us travel. Dad can walk short distances without a problem and longer distances with assistance, but he can’t move fast, and the wheelchair helped him avoid pain. Since we were traveling with a wheelchair passenger, we had priority boarding on every flight: we were among the first to board and the last to disembark.

I took a wheeled backpack as my carry-on, which freed my arms to push wheelchairs or carry bags. Dad carried a small duffel bag on his lap. The rest of our party carried backpacks.

We also made sure everybody brought a large empty water bottle to the airport and kept it with them at all times. We refilled the water bottles from dispensers in the airports.

We had very long travel: 22+ hours of flights plus long layovers. Dad kept up well. We helped him know when to sleep and when to wake, and he got lots of rest.

Travel can be boring. We brought an iPad with several downloaded ACC basketball games, and a simple headset. This helped occupy Dad during long layovers.

We kept track of eating and drinking schedules. The few times Dad got agitated, he was hungry or tired. Snacks and rest at the right times helped. We carried small granola bars and dried fruit.

We gave Dad simple responsibilities along the way. Carry this water bottle. Watch this luggage.

At one hotel, Dad left the room in the middle of the night. Hotel staff recognized him and returned him to us. After that we used a Lewis & Clark door alarm (available on Amazon). We also had him wear a name tag similar to what he wears at the Senior Center, listing his name, his condition, his itinerary, and family contact numbers.

We prevented dehydration by monitoring Dad’s fluid intake and urging him to drink lots of water frequently. He carried a DCSL water bottle throughout the trip. We were able to watch its water level, refilling from time to time.