Would you cancel holiday

[rubyslipperss]

Hello, regular poster on these boards recently..fed up of it all now !
To cut a very long story short , I have had a literally shit summer , with an inpatient stay for food poisoning , endless bowel problems because of it . Also developed high heart rate (had to go to AE ) which they think is due to settling infection , ecg etc normal, along with a continuing viral throat infection .
Basically I had another episode yesterday of high HR , it didn't last long , about 15 mins , and I didn't go to AE. Had someone at home. But felt awful afterwards , very tired . I've gone back to work a bit but barely managing , haven't really been out of house much since thing in AE, mainly due to the fatigue . Just feeling generally rubbish , most I've managed is a few hours . Not back to normal as in out, work, exercise , socialising .
We have our holiday this week , relaxing probably when we get there but 24 hours of travel ( not flying ) and a long route back , which normally we like but now just seems a lot .
I'm not sure if we should cancel . DH been looking forward to it for a long time , but I'm just exhausted and worried if I have another episode of high HR , what will happen .
Any advice ?

Anyone ?

What is the situation with your travel insurance? Will you get your money back? I am sorry. I have chronic illness and it is stressful to work around.

I think I'd go. I have Atrial Fibrillation which can be very scary and can strike out of the blue. That put me off travelling for a long time.

But one day I just said, OK I can be miserable and tired here, or away in a different place. So I travelled and got my confidence back. Still knackered and unwell if I get an episode but I don't let it stop me now. That's what travel insurance is for, and I stay within Europe where the health card works. I check out where the nearest hospital and doctor are in choosing a destination, which helps. I wouldn't go deeply rural or anywhere more than half an hour from a medical facility. Haven't needed it so far, but being prepared makes me less concerned.

I hope you feel better soon. Is there any chance that you could break up the outward and return long journeys with a night's stay halfway?

No one can answer this but you OP! Do you want to go to the place you're going to? Is there another way you could travel that would be quicker? How will your DH feel if you force a cancellation - will he resent you for it and it will all end up being more miserable/stressful than if you do go? Do you speak the language of the place you're going and is good medical treatment available, should you need it?

I wouldn’t go because being ill away from home is really miserable & stressful. If you do go, you need watertight travel insurance. Can you rebook for another time?

I would go.

Go. I understand why you don’t want to but delegate as much as possible. DH will have been under strain, too. You’ve given no medical reason for not going and whilst I understand the thought of travelling is debilitating, you and DH need a change of scene.

We had a similar dilemma earlier this year and had to cancel a long weekend abroad. The question we asked ourselves was whether we could enjoy it over there and make the most of being somewhere different, even if that meant adapting slightly, the answer was no as sadly DH wasn't well enough to really get out of bed and wasn't eating other than the odd bit of toast so we had to cancel.
We would have gone and adapted our expectations if he'd been out of bed and able to go out for meals so I think it depends on what would do and whether that would make you feel better or worse than you do currently.

I would advise caution.

I have had a period of illness.
I forced myself to set out on the holiday we had planned. It was a long drive this side of the channel then a ferry then another long drive to reach our destination.
I made it only half way before becoming really unwell.
We cut our losses and returned home. I just wish I had not tried to be so “brave” in attempting the holiday.
All I have achieved is to set my recovery back and severely inconvenience my travelling companions.
Good luck and a fast recovery!

Have you declared everything to your travel insurer?
If so are there good medical facilities where you are going?
If so can you rest on holiday?
Is so I would go.
A hectic busy holiday doesn't sound like what you need right now.

Thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate it and it's helping me looking at other peoples experiences.

@Travelsalot & @Perroi we are covered on the policy for medical illness and I've got letters to back up . I can apply for GP to write a letter saying I've had the illness . It's not something I declared when we took it out as it was an acute illness followed by this awful period of fatigue & occasional tachycardia . I didn't ring up when I went into hospital to declare it though ( but then again I didn't realise it was going to end up being like this)
We could spend a bit more and stay overnight on way . That's a possibility.
DH thinks we should go but I know he'll feel stressed if I am . He gets that I feel unwell still . I think he's going to resent me for a bit but we have already had a lovely holiday this year before I got sick and we could easily rebook .

You really need to update the insurer of all the changes or the policy will be invalid. Should the worst happen they would access your medical records and see that you had undeclared illness and hospital admission.

Sorry OP but they'll probably charge you loads to add something too :(

If you can easily rebook, then I'd probably do that, based on the additional info you've given. It sounds like you really don't want to go away and that's okay. When you've been really unwell it does make you lose your confidence a bit and it's fair enough to want to feel fully well before you go.

So have you checked with your travel insurance? I'd be surprised if they covered things you didn't declare.

@GranPepper
Yes, she definitely said under our policy we would be covered but now I'm worrying if I misheard! So I should have called them when I'd had an inpatient stay for illness unrelated to previous issues ? I suppose at the time I didn't give it a second thought because I didn't realise it was going to affect me this much down the line..
would you suggest putting it on the policy now ? I haven't actually cancelled yet

@cheezncrackers yes in my gut ( no pun intended) I feel like I need to recover at home . The holiday would be relaxing but the travelling wouldn't be and I would have to go straight back to work . I had sick leave but now struggling to do anything but stay at home and short visits out .

Sorry @GranPepper do you mean if we didn't declare it before we went and then I got sick abroad we wouldn't be covered . ?
Oh, we won't get the sum of the holiday back because I didn't let them know during the summer that I was unwell ?

Well, who said you'd be covered - your GP or someone else, I wasn't clear. But really you need to ask your travel insurance. Most travel insurance policies require you to declare medical issues. They can then say 1) that's fine; 2) we'll cover you for another fee; 3) we aren't covering you (in these circumstances, they sometimes offer a referral to a specialist insurer who will assess and may offer cover). In any case, I'd check with insurance company

I'd prob try to go u can always turn back x

If you cancel now, you should be covered if the condition was not pre existing.

You have to change your travel insurance
Tell them every detail of your illness and your recurring high HR
Otherwise you wont be covered if something happens as it will be classed as ‘undisclosed ongoing illness’

The OP said she didn't declare existing condition (around 14.57, she could get a letter from GP she had the illness and didn't declare it as it was acute but led to fatigue, tachycardia etc). This is why she would be well advised to consult travel insurance. I used to deal with unhappy customers whose claim wasn't paid out because they had an undeclared medical condition. The T&C in the insurance generally require the insured to declare medical conditions.

Yes, it's just whether the whole recent thing all counts as a new condition.

It's so complex.

Which is why you would be well advised to contact the insurance company