Sydney Opera house - a photo on Flickriver

Sydney Opera house

            During the planning of this trip, I likely overestimated our healthcare needs and underestimated the physical demands of extensive travel, particularly at the age of 66. Our journey began with a drive from West Yorkshire to Manchester, where we stayed overnight to catch an early morning flight. We had to keep changing our travel plans due to our daughter having a baby within a couple of weeks in Perth Australia.

We boarded a flight from Manchester to Dublin. From there, we connected on an Aer Lingus flight to San Francisco. During the 11-hour flight, I believe I sustained a significant back injury while awkwardly twisting to exit my seat.

Upon arrival in San Francisco, we took a taxi to our downtown hotel, where we spent four days exploring the city’s iconic landmarks. While the experience was exciting, the physical demands were considerable. Initially, I attributed the severe back pain I endured to the overly soft bed, but the discomfort persisted daily, and I began feeling increasingly unwell.

After our stay in San Francisco, we embarked on a cruise around California, with stops in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ensenada, Mexico. The cruise ended back in San Francisco, allowing for a brief visit to Sausalito before transferring to a motel for a short seven-hour stay. Unfortunately, the motel resembled something out of Psycho, adding to the discomfort. But it allowed you to stay for 6 hours until our nighttime flight.
 
We were at one point going to go via Fiji and then travel on to Perth, but we had to change plans due to our daughters' pregnancy. That evening, we boarded a red-eye flight to Sydney, originally scheduled for 23:40. However, the flight was delayed by two hours due to a passenger-related issue at border control. Despite being on the runway, the plane had to return to the terminal to remove the individual and their luggage—a situation that could have been better resolved prior to boarding.

The subsequent 15-hour flight to Sydney was challenging, especially given the delay and my ongoing back pain. Upon arrival, we spent four nights in Sydney, but illness severely curtailed our activities. By this point, both my wife and I were feeling unwell.

Next, we flew to Perth with Virgin Australia. The cramped seating exacerbated my back injury, further impacting my comfort, and my wife’s condition had worsened significantly. These budget airlines are just the awful, no room whatsoever.

The cumulative toll of the journey from Yorkshire to Perth was profound. I developed influenza, worsened diabetes symptoms, and two herniated disks in my lower back. So I had to seek medical treatment in Perth, which including consultations, chiropractic care, and medication to manage my blood sugar levels. Fortunately, I met a compassionate diabetes expert who graciously invited me to her home and provided invaluable advice and free support during our stay in Australia. Without this lady, I’m sure we would have had to return home early, as even with prescribed medications from the doctor, I couldn’t control my glucose levels. I had to take insulin for a period of time, which brought my Glucose down to the point I could manage it with just tablets.

My wife also suffered from a severe chest infection which she had picked up on the cruise, requiring medical attention and prescription medication. Initially, we had planned to spend three nights in Singapore before returning home. However, given the strain on our health, we decided to forgo Singapore and return directly from Perth to Manchester via Doha. The final leg of the journey involved another 2 red-eye flights, totalling an exhausting 19 hours, arriving in Manchester at 12:30. Just really glad to be home and able to sort my health issues out. Got to say Doha airport is out of this world, just fabulous. I was still not walking 100% and some nice gentleman stopped with a mobile caddie to take us to our terminal which was about a 30-minute walk. He saved my life lol

Taken in: Australia / New South Wales / Dawes Point (show map)

Taken on: February 18, 2025

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Sets appears in: • Sydney, Australia 2024

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