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Evelyn and Howard are the only two remaining of five siblings who grew up on a family farm in Central Missouri and then moved to southern California and Oregon in the mid 1940s. It had been several years since the two had spent time together. The trip to Boise ID went very well as her Travel Companion had scheduled an easy connection and scheduled priority boarding and a wheel chair for each flight segment. Her Travel Companion Pam took care of the bags and arranged for transportation from the Boise airport to John Day OR, about a 3 hour ride. Once checked into a hotel in John Day, Pam and Evelyn went to the ranch to reunite with Howard. Gary, Brian, Ron, plus Donna also joined in the reunion. Howard and Evelyn were excited to see each other and they lost no time in catching up. Donna, Pam and Ron prepared dinner “Missouri” style which set the stage for long hours of conversation about the old days. For the next three days, Howard and Evelyn reminisced for hours, telling each other stories. They reminisced, fished (Evelyn caught fish for their dinner), paged through scrap books, enjoyed Howard’s birthday party and just enjoyed their time together. Pam, Evelyn’s Travel Companion not only helped the entire the way making the trip possible, but she made the extra effort insuring that Evelyn was well taken care of and totally cared for. Aside from the trip, Pam assisted with meal preparation, baited fish hooks for fishing, helped organize scrapbooks and helped tape pictures. Pam also stayed with Evelyn in the lodge to make certain she was taken care of and safe and sound. When it was time to start the flight home the flight home, Evelyn and her travel companion Pam, boarded Southwest flight 405 to Oakland CA to connect to Burbank California. The usual wheelchairs and priority boarding were set and the boarding process went well. After 40 minutes in the air, the pilot said that there was a warning light in the flight deck and we were going to return to Boise to have it repaired. When it was discovered that the delay might be lengthly, the airline required everyone to get off and wait for another airplane. Evelyn was assisted off the plane and the situation explained to her. The Travel Companion handled everything; explaining the circumstances to Evelyn, re-booking the flight connection to Oakland, assuring priority boarding once more, and handling snacks and drinks. Thankfully the flights home were uneventful and went smoothly. We are reminded constantly how precious family and friends are to our well being. Seniors commonly let life close in on them because keeping contact with loved ones who live far away becomes too difficult. Unfortunately, travel is one of the first things that drops out of the life of an aging senior. Travel Companions are a way for seniors to keep the lifestyle they love and maintain contact with friends and family. Evelyn and Howard had a few fantastic days together and they now have many more memories to last a life time. At the last dinner in Oregon, plans were already started to have the next family reunion. One company specializing in Travel Companions is Care-To-Go. For information on scheduling your Travel Companion visit CareToGoTravel.com
Article Source: http://www.holidaysoftheyear.com
Captain Gable is a freelance writer featuring airline articles as well as Elder Travel and Home Care Articles. For more information see care-to-go.com and caretogotravel.com Here are a series of articles and information gathered from 35 years airline experience and over 30 years of family home care caregiver experiences.
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