What a special caring company
In August last year I had a family traveling on a holiday of a lifetime to Australia. This holiday had taken months of planning, ensuring that every detail had been taken care off.
My clients, (let’s call them Tony and Sue - not their real names) arrived with their two children into Brisbane after a very long flight with a change of planes in Hong Kong. On arrival into Brisbane, Tony and Sue felt that something was not quite right with their 16-year-old son, Callum had literally slept all the way from London to Brisbane and had been very difficult to wake for their transfer in Hong Kong. However, some of this was put down to him being a teenager and having just finished his exams.
They continued onto their accommodation on one of the many islands in the area. After their first night in their resort Callum was showing signs that he really was not well. He was still very difficult to wake and when he was awake he did not know where he was, and his personality had completely changed. A decision was made to get him to hospital. This involved a ferry back to the mainland as well as finding the hospital. Callum was taken straight to intensive care. As any parent can imagine this was a horrific experience topped with the fact that they were thousands of miles from home. It was at this stage that Tony emailed me pouring out his heart as to how worried they were about their son and not sure what to do or who to talk to.
This is where the worldwide family that is Travel Counsellors stepped in. I immediately called Tony and talked to him to try and establish what was happening. His son by this stage was having all sorts of tests and was still in intensive care. Both his parents were told that he would not be able to leave the hospital for at least a week. After reassuring Tony that we would look after him I told him to sit tight and someone would be in contact with him.
I then contacted our 24-hour Duty Office to make them aware of the situation while at the same time I was putting out a message for help to our Australian Travel Counsellors. Within a couple of hours, I had one of my fellow Travel Counsellors contacting me to say that she lived by the hospital and was more than happy to go and visit them in person. What other travel company can offer this sort of service? By that evening Tony and Sue had been visited by Hayley, my angel in Australia, and been reassured that we would take care of their onward travel, cancelling hotels, re-booking flights etc. She also took their daughter to meet her daughter who was the same age so that she wasn’t sat in the hospital all day. This act of kindness is something so special and will always be appreciated by Tony and his family as well as by myself.
Callum spent 10 days in hospital and was then told that they could continue with their holiday but that they would have to stay within a good distance of any hospital. During this time Hayley was a constant source of support to the family in so many ways. Sadly, they could not go to the Great Barrier Reef, but they did continue with their holiday as best they could be visiting Sydney and then on up to Cairns. This was all re-arranged by Hayley on my behalf. The holiday was not what the family had hoped it would be by any stretch of the imagination, but it could have been so different if they had not had anyone to fall back on.
Callum was diagnosed by a very rare condition called Kleine-Levin Syndrome KLS). This is a rare and complex neurological disorder characterized by recurring periods of excessive amounts of sleep, altered behaviour, and a reduced understanding of the world. The disorder strikes adolescents primarily but can occur in younger children and adults. At the onset of an episode the patient becomes progressively drowsy and sleeps for most of the day and night (hypersomnolence), sometimes waking only to eat or go to the bathroom. Each episode lasts days, weeks or months during which time all normal daily activities stop. Individuals are not able to care for themselves or attend school and work. In between episodes, those with KLS appear to be in perfect health with no evidence of behavioural or physical dysfunction. KLS episodes may continue for 10 years or more. KLS is sometimes referred to in the media as “Sleeping Beauty” syndrome.
He continues to have episodes but is now under the care of St Thomas in London.
This experience has made me appreciate what a truly special company we are. This is just one of many special stories that Travel Counsellors have been involved with but this one was personal to me.
