Gettin’ Carried Away

It never fails that I fall ill before a trip. For instance, take this post I wrote earlier this year. I was headed to New Orleans, but before I traded the Windy City for the Big Easy, my hometown gave me a lovely parting gift: a horrible cold.

I had always been told by fellow travelers and by friends in the medical field that a sick person (especially one with a head cold) should really try to avoid flying. I already had a lot of pressure constricting my sinuses, so a drastic chance in the air pressure outside my body could really do some damage. I once flew over nine hours from France to Germany to the United States while nursing the sniffles, so I thought I’d take my chances with the measly two-and-a-half-hour plane ride from Illinois to Louisiana.

On BOTH occasions, I stepped off the plane with an immediate ear infection. The pain was… immense. I couldn’t yawn or swallow without an excruciating, stabbing pain bursting in my ear. The ache slowly faded as the days wore on, and when I returned home, I bought some Earplanes to help with any future discomfort. They worked! However, my most recent sickness before my latest trip was a little different from the common cold, and I ended up having to change my flight and cancel a night at the hotel. And, aside from some extra fees, making the necessary changes was… smooth sailing.

I’ve been under the weather for a little while. Two weeks ago, I started noticing a little tickle in my throat. I just kept drinking water and it eventually went away. As the week went on, I found it increasingly difficult to sleep, and I woke up every single day with a dry, scratchy throat. It’s happened to me before when the weather starts changing from warm to cold to warm and back again in Chicago, so I didn’t read too much into it. When I started coughing a little bit about nine days ago, I shrugged it off and kept on truckin’.

My sickness eventually evolved into a sore throat, body aches and wavering fever. I thought it might be the flu, so I kept up with the fluids, took some meds every four hours and alternated hot and cold drinks for my sore throat. Nothing helped. I had to call off work twice, and I eventually made my way to the ER because the pain was just too unbearable. Turns out, I was a little dehydrated and had contracted rapid strep throat. My throat was almost completely closed up… pretty gross, I know. I was supposed to leave for New York that night, but I was in no condition to travel.

First, I logged onto Southwest.com to try and change my flight. It was actually really easy to do, since I booked in online. If you book a flight over the phone, you’ll have to change the reservation over the phone, as well, if needed. Anyway, I chose a flight for Friday morning. All I had to pay was the difference in price. Obviously, a flight is going to be a little pricey if you purchase it the day before it leaves, but I was happy that Southwest didn’t slap me with any additional fees. Now, onto the hotel.

I booked through Priceline.com, because the site had an amazing deal. However, Priceline has this ‘No Cancelation’ policy, so I couldn’t just cancel the first night of my stay. I could, however, call the hotel and tell them I would not be coming until the next day, and my room would still be waiting for me whenever I did arrive that following day. So, while I still had to pay for a night on which I didn’t even sleep at the hotel, I didn’t have to fork over any extra fees.

In the end, my advice is to make sure you read through the cancellation/changes policies enforced by a given airline, hotel or agency. While you may lose out on money, you can still avoid paying hefty fees.