Traveling with Lupus

September 20, 2022 by Mia B.

Note: I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice. These are simply things that I’ve done that have helped me enjoy life to the fullest with a lupus diagnosis.

1. Plan ahead. I met with my rheumatologist a month before my England trip to discuss adjusting medication dosages while on my trip, such as increasing my daily meloxicam dose and starting a low dose prophylactic steroid to prevent a flare up while traveling. Everyone’s care plan will look different, but being proactive before the trip will help head off issues before they happen.

2. Be prepared. We always fly with carry on only, but if you check bags be sure you pack all your medications in your carry on. Carry a print out of your medication list and any relevant medical conditions with your passport in case there is a health emergency.

3. Schedule rest. Know you won’t be able to go 100% the whole trip. Schedule in a rest day or split days into segments with small rests between. Plan your daily schedule to accommodate your needs. Knowing my legs can take up to an hour to function if they are super stiff, we scheduled our mornings to be flexible.

Our most physically exerting time was hiking part of Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland so we purposefully scheduled our first day in York to rest and relax. We broke up our other days with stops at coffee shops and pubs- a delightful way to soak up local culture and meet fascinating people!

4. Know your triggers. Food and sun exposure are big triggers for me. Aside from packing my usual sunscreen, sun wasn’t much of an issue in April in England. ;) But I opted to pack fewer clothes and toiletries so I could carry food that I know fuels my body and we made stops at local groceries to get fresh fruits and veg.

5. Listen to your body. After hiking all around Hadrian’s Wall and walking back from St Oswald’s Church at Heavenfield to refuel at George Hotel in Chollerford (just that last stretch was about 5 miles), my sister and mum wanted to hike back up to view one of the few remaining turrets of the wall. I knew my body couldn’t make it, my left foot had started to hurt a lot, so I sat and read the local paper and chatted with patrons at the inn. Turns out that was the right choice because I’d broken my foot and didn’t know for another 3 weeks!

6. Live life fully! Lupus doesn’t mean we can’t live and experience life, we just need to be thoughtful in how we go about it. This trip of a lifetime with my mum and sister was amazing and it wouldn’t have happened had I let lupus dictate my life.

What other tips and tricks do you have for traveling and thriving with a lupus diagnosis?

Lindisfarne- the Sea

September 06, 2022 by Mia B.

I’m recovering form abdominal surgery and in the midst of moving, so things have been a bit chaotic. Nothing calms me more than the ocean, so here are some images of the sea surrounding Lindisfarne.

We had gloriously sunny weather while we were on Holy Island. We weren’t able to explore the whole island because we were limited by the tide schedule so next visit I’ll definitely be staying over on the island to have some extra time to explore the castle and all of the nature reserve.

There is an active fishing community in Northumberland and we got to see many fishing boats come and go on the waters surrounding Lindisfarne.

Lindisfarne Priory

July 21, 2022 by Mia B.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne was my absolute favorite place . My biggest regret was we only had a few hours there. It’s a tidal island so unless you are staying on the island (next time!), your time is limited by the tide schedule. My son was recently reading a Horrible Histories book Smashing Saxons (we have the complete Horrible Histories set, highly recommend for your history loving kiddos), and told me about St Cuthbert and Lindisfarne and I excitedly exclaimed, “I’ve been there!!”

Statue of St Cuthbert at Lindisfarne Priory

My mum exploring the island (that’s Eleanor Elizabeth Bunny peeking out of her bag- she travels the world with mom!).

The priory was built in the seventh century and was a frequent target of Viking raids in the 8th and 9th centuries and, many centuries later, Scottish raids. Notable historical figures associated with Lindisfarne are the 7th century Northumbrian King, Oswald, who brought St. Aidan from Ireland to form a monastery on the island. Also, St. Cuthbert is well known for his connection to the island and the priory. Lots of interesting stories revolve around these saints and David Adam’s book on the Saints of Lindisfarne is high on my ‘post nursing school’ reading list.

Bamburgh Castle in the distance, seen from the south side of Holy Island

From a pop culture perspective, if you’ve watched the television show The Last Kingdom, you’ve undoubtedly heard about St Cuthbert, Bamburgh and Northumbria. It was a gloriously clear and sunny day to visit Lindisfarne and I majorly geeked out getting to look across and see Bamburgh Castle in the distance. I cannot wait to visit again and spend a few weeks just in Northumberland, having more time at each of these sites and hiking St. Cuthbert’s Way and St. Oswald’s Way!!

Lowick

July 07, 2022 by Mia B.

Our plane was late leaving JFK, which meant we were late arriving in London.

Which meant we caught a later train to Berwick-Upon-Tweed.

Which meant we missed the last bus to Lowick.

We had a lot of random mishaps like this, despite carefully planning the details ahead of time. We were constantly amazed at the kindness of those around us in helping out! A local from Berwick saw us looking aghast at the bus stop outside the train station and immediately called a cab to take us to Lowick. We arrived at the White Swan Inn just in time to check in and order take away from the Black Bull Inn. While we waited for our food, we took a walk around the little village as the day waned away to dusk.

The White Swan Inn was the quintessential small village inn and the service was amazing.

Exploring the churchyard across from the Black Bull Inn

The Black Bull Inn had the most delicious gluten free burger!

Nowhere to go by Everywhere

July 05, 2022 by Mia B.

In April, my sister and mom whisked me away for a magical girls’ trip to England.

Upon arriving in Heathrow, I immediately loved the change in language usage like 'Baggage Reclaim" and "Onward Travel"

The British Library. People and vehicles everywhere.

St. Pancras International Station & a Tory Burch London Cab

A requisite stop by Platform 9 3/4. The queue to take pictures with the trolley was ridiculously long so I snapped a picture from afar between tourists.

Once landing in Heathrow, we traveled straight into London and caught a train north from King’s Cross. We spent very little time in London this trip and my overall impression was that it was overwhelmingly loud and busy. I’m sure I will enjoy it more on future trips when I spend time at the various museums instead of rushing through from airport to train station. I did enjoy seeing the constant juxtaposition of modern and old architecture, like in the waiting area at King’s Cross Station.

My mum and sister have traveled to the UK many times, both together and separately, but it was my first visit. They asked me to pick where I’d like to go and I knew I wanted to go north to the lands of Jane Eyre & James Herriot, Vikings & Romans, Northumberland & Yorkshire. So we traveled straight from London to the far north, disembarking at a small, seaside town just a few miles south of Scotland: Berwick-Upon-Tweed.