Safe-Cation

- Jody Robbins

FRIGID RAIN LASHED AROUND US AS WE BANGED on the station doors to be let inside. Behind us stood hundreds of other passengers, all frustrated after being unceremoniously herded off the Eurostar train. Just that morning, we were happily chugging our way to Paris, thrilled to be ticking off an item on our collective bucket list, when suddenly we found ourselves braving the elements with no clue as to what was going on. My sister and mother had flown in especially for this once-in-a-lifetime trip. I suppose now is a good time to mention that Mom has stage IV cancer and was in the midst of chemotherapy treatments. Travelling can be stressful, even for the hardiest of people. For cancer patients, it’s an even more daunting prospect. Managing a safe and relaxing journey when you have a terminal illness involves careful planning and attention to detail. This I know now. I wish I did then.

Back in 2005, my mother was diagnosed with stage IV uterine cancer and given months to live. While there is never a good time for this kind of news, the timing was particularly bad. I was adjusting (badly) to new motherhood, my father had recently passed away, and my husband had accepted a job offer in England.

Nothing could keep Mom away from her granddaughter, so despite her condition, plans were made for her and my sister to visit shortly after we moved abroad. Our main consideration was to work the trip in between her monthly chemotherapy treatments. That and to steal away to Paris – just another girls’ trip, albeit a more glamorous one.