Volunteering abroad

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edepew151

edepew151

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Hi everyone! So, I have always wanted to travel, and I've found that I really love volunteering, so I've been looking into volunteering abroad. I found a great group at crossculturalsolutions.org. I emailed them and told them I was interested, but I was somewhat concerned about my epilepsy. I told them all about it, and all I really needed was the assurance that the medical staff would be able to handleme if anything should happen and I asked if there would be a hospital close by. My dad (who is a family practice doctor) said that as long as I had enough pills to last me and brought my magnet for my VNS, he thinks it would be great for me :woot: . He also said he would call my neurologist to make sure I had his okay. I want to ask you guys if you can think of anything else I can do to make sure this is as safe as possible. I have asked only a couple of friends if they would like to come, but they would rather stay in school (I'm taking a semester off for this, but I won't be staying more than 2 months). Can anybody think of anything I missed?
 
Where are you going to volunteer? Depending on where you go you may need to get vaccinated for things like hepatitis.
I can't think of anything else in terms of Epilepsy though I think as long as you've got people around who know your history and can deal with it if something does happen you should be okay.
 
Just remembered when I was traveling overseas last year I asked the doctor if there was anything I needed to be worried about or vaccinated for. He gave me some shots and then checked to see if there were any travel warnings about the places I was going. The only warning "Do not partake in the drinking of chicken blood"...........:ponder: Obviously I was really bummed, drinking chicken blood was the only reason I wanted to go overseas:lol:
 
That brought back a story about a guy that works with us,no chiken blood but chronic dhiorrea,he was laid up the entire trip and ended up been looked after by the people he went out there to look after.
 
I told them I want to go to South Africa, but I will go where ever I am needed most. And my dad said he can give me most of the shots I will need, but I might need to go to another doctor for others (depending on where I go).
 
How wonderful! It will be a great experience.

Do you know where in South Africa? And if in a rural area would it be near western-style medical staff that meet world standards? I'm just asking because when I had seizures but wasn't diagnosed yet, I did some traveling in rural spots where there were local doctors/ medical care, but was warned not to go there, even if I was having a heart attack. It was that bad. I tended to go to really out of the way places that didn't have properly trained doctors, not even volunteer ones. Despite that I'm hoping to go again someday.

Other things to think about:

  • I'd be sure you are within 15-30 minutes of world-standard medical care, and there's a way to get there. (usually are no ambulances out in the bush)
  • I'd be sure you bring rehydration salts with you. You'd think this would be easy to get in a tropical/hot climate, but sometimes it isn't
  • Get rescue meds for seizures.
  • Keep a supply of meds in your carry on bag, and your purse. If one gets stolen you'll still have the other. Theft is a big problem no matter where you travel. Also keep a copy of your prescriptions and a letter from your doctor about the prescriptions in your suitcase, and your carry on and purse. Most customs are okay but some are a little sticky. Remember to leave your meds in the original prescription bottles. For things that have the prescription label on the box, leave it in the box. If you need more/multiple prescription bottles with a label, most pharmacies will give you labeled empties.
  • Ask your pharmacist if hot or humid weather deteriorates any of you medications. If it does, you can either use cotton or those little water absorbtion packets that come in medicine bottles, and for things that need to be refrigerated, buy one of those diabetic insulin holders that keep cool with plain water.
  • Get a cool tie if heat is a seizure trigger, or just to help you keep cool. http://sparklingearth.com/

My last thought is that sometimes people with chronic health conditions get sicker than other people and need more medical support. Epilepsy is one of those. Really make sure you have travel health insurance that is well rated, and that includes excellent medical evacuation coverage. It's cheap, and it's a little crazy to leave home without it. Medical evacuation can cost between $10,000 and $50,000.

Have fun! We'll want PICTURES! :)
 
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Thanks! I haven't even thought about heat being an issue and that link is really cool (pardon the pun) And taking two sets of pills is a great idea, too. Thanks so much!!!
 
I might add that I did have meds but not for epilepsy. I had my second set of meds in a very small fanny pack around my waist and under my shirt/pants so it wouldn't get stolen. Not so good for going through security to get on the plane (had to take it off). Lucky I've never been stopped and searched at any customs. Don't know what they would have thought.
 
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