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All of Those Exhilarating Peaks and Mega Excitements of My England Travels for InvisiYouth Charity

August 31st 2017

I recently took a trip to England all in the name of expanding InvisiYouth’s new programs and meeting with some of the amazing InvisiYouth supporters we’ve come to love and support over the years and charities we’ve admired for a while.  We have heard from some many of you that you wanted to hear all about my trip, and how I was able to handle all of that travel.  Now…I cannot give too many specifics about our new programs because we’re in development (and really, what would the surprise be if we told you everything before our prelaunch)!  But I can certainly share all the behind the scenes of my England trip and travel.

There are two big reasons why I wanted to make sure InvisiYouth made its way across the pond to England as our first major international InvisiYouth trip. One was the fact that England has been the first and most overwhelmingly supportive community since the day we launched.  The first teens and older youth with chronic illness and disability to follow InvisiYouth were all British.  And the first charities to reach across and want to lend support to InvisiYouth’s mission were from the United Kingdom.

That support network has continued to grow during our two years. We’ve even had an InvisiEvent in London last autumn, proving that InvisiYouth reaching beyond geographic, we are designed for older youth and can reach them anywhere!

The second reason to go to England was due to our Charity Friend role in the first Superhero Series Triathlon.  This was England’s very first adaptive disability triathlon, where people of all ages, disabilities and illnesses could compete in swimming, running and cycling with as much support and adaptive equipment as needed.

With the backdrop of the 2012 Olympics venue of Dorney Lake, the event was going to be unlike anything experienced before.  And with InvisiYouth having a group of teams all competing on behalf of InvisiYouth to fundraise for us, we had to make sure that we were there supporting them on their amazing job well done.

I have to say, what made the experience of bringing InvisiYouth even further into the UK even more special was that I was able to bring my entire family over with me, and getting some awesome memories of family time included in the work trip.  When life gets so chaotic and crazy, which can easily happen owning a charity and almost 25 years old, it is special to make memories with your family.

These are the people that have been my support system throughout my entire life, and even more than most families because they have become my rock throughout my health struggles.  Going through a chronic illness, growing up and finding myself as an adult with health struggles, is more complicated and challenging than any amount of words can describe.  But it has been my family that has help pull me through all the complexly stressful hardships that having RSD and EDS can really bring into your life.  I am thankful for them beyond belief, for their love and devotion, and their support of InvisiYouth Charity and our mission!

The England experience was an amazing opportunity to meet with individuals and charities who are going to be part of this new, evolving chapter of InvisiYouth Charity as it expands its advocacy education with our new tools and programs.  These illness lifestyle management tools are going to be the backbone of InvisiYouth where our events and speaking engagements will feed off as we continue to grow in the years to come.

I have always said that InvisiYouth’s focus is the age demographic in the illness/disability community, not the specific illness or disability, and we focus on the nonmedical side of the medical experience.  There are so many facets of life outside of illness when you live with one, so InvisiYouth cannot be more excited to provide support to help these young people live life and navigate life with illness so it can be fun, empowered and fulfilled in all its unique, adapted ways.

It is important for InvisiYouth to have more than just supporters in the UK, we need to have partners and lead volunteers in these other regions in order to engrain and expand the InvisiYouth tools and mission.  So it is completely obvious that these British older youth and charities will become part of our expansion and part of the InvisiYouth family. I am literally ripping at the seams wanting to share with you how fantastic each of these meetings were, how amazing these people are, and how completely overwhelmed with joy the InvisiYouth team is to know these organizations are going to be part of something we’re creating.

It is a massive THANK YOU to the always dedicated nonprofits like Once Upon a Smile, English Federation of Disability Sports, The Mix UK and CP Teens UK.

It is a gigantic THANK YOU to the empowering and fearless leaders like Sarah Alexander, Chloe Tears, Catrin Pugh and Emma Franklin.

There were even so many other British older youth and charities that we didn’t get to meet in person but we are going to be connecting with through the powers of technology and Skype now that we are back in the states.

Now, coming off such a successful meaningful and fun trip, we gotta break down the peaks and pitfalls of travel with a chronic illness like RSD.  I always joke that the pain and symptom peaks feel worth it when the experience is so worthwhile, and going over to England and creating these connections to expand InvisiYouth’s work even deeper into this nation was worthwhile.

Sitting on planes for almost nine hours straight doesn’t work well with RSD, so you must accommodate to your medical needs.  Getting medical documentation from doctors about being about to move around plane, to have people required to sit near you to help if side effects arise, all important to have.  And if you’re like me, and you are partially bionic like I am with rods and screws in my spine, then it’s always a good idea to have a medical letter notifying your metal (titanium or not) because it’s best to be safe when you’re going through airport security.

Make sure you have your own checklist for your medical needs (like medications, adaptive equipment, and what I call ‘checkup tools’).  I always like to make sure that my staple backups of support like Tylenol, KT Tape, bandage wraps, mini heat packs, resistance bands, and much more.  And you gotta make sure your wardrobe can match too.  Bringing additional layers when I deal with my limbs going too cold, shoes that can adapt to swelling easily, and dresses with slits so I could easily bring respite to my knee.  All these fashion tips made my travel easier.

But a major savior for me was timing.  I had to make sure my schedule was planned with work, with touristy stuff, as well as my medical rest time.  I had to make sure that when I was travelling, whether on a train, a cab, an Uber ride, or even a plane, that I was using my off-time wisely to recuperate from my symptoms to make it through each day.  And when I had resting time at the end of the day, it was all about heating, massages and elevation.  When you put time into your travels to focus on your health, it actually becomes a true travelling vacation and fun experience.

Yeah, when I got back to the states I had to put in some additional PT sessions, resting time and acupuncture, but with some focus on how to combat travel with a chronic illness, you can get through anything and ease what can be a setback on the return home.

Truth be told, I think England is now going to be a staple trip for Team InvisiYouth each and every year!  And while we’ll be having a team of supporters in the country year-round hosting and supporting all things InvisiYouth, I’ll be making sure that the UK is a top priority visit for us as we grow.  Not only did I love the people, culture, architecture, and cities, but I loved how warmly InvisiYouth’s mission and belief system was received and that deserves lots and lots of more England trips to come!

So…where will I be heading next for some InvisiYouth fun and work?  You’ll have to check out the InvisiYouth website for next month because we’re crossing country borders yet again!

~Dominique