Traveling Alone? Think twice.

October 19, 2023: A date that forever changed me, compelling me to urge you, fellow wanderers, to reconsider the risks of traveling alone. I never thought this scenario would happen to me, but it did.?

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Last October, I attended an industry show in Las Vegas called IMEX, aware that my energy and personal batteries were running low. I pushed myself to get business done, canceled coveted dinner plans, and curtailed my trip to return home the following day.? I attributed my fatigue and lack of appetite to the previous week’s events, including a memorial service for my fiancee’s mother, followed by a family wedding out of state. We had buried three parents within two years. These emotional peaks and valleys were challenging, affected my conditioning, and permeated their way into my being.?

The following day, I arrived at the airport in Las Vegas, checked in, and headed for the gate where I found a sandwich stand and proceeded to order a turkey sandwich.

In a blink, my life changed, and I will never know the details because I blacked out.

The next thing I remember is opening my eyes in an ambulance plugged into all sorts of gadgets, oxygen, and heart monitors, en route to Sunrise Medical Center. After four days in the supervised trauma area, where I was told that I did not eat or speak, I was moved to the rehab center to begin a two-week-plus journey to learn how to speak, walk, and think again.?

The first question the nurse asked me on arrival at the Trauma center was for a phone number for an emergency contact. I could barely remember my fiancé, Mike’s number.????

I was later told that I sent a text to Mike that read, “Please call me ASAP, emergency” followed by, “in ER Sunrise Hospital.” Mike and I have a routine for when I travel alone: I text when I get to the airport, then on the plane, and after landing. I thought I had provided him with adequate information to contact the hospital and ascertain my condition. However, it was fortuitous that he dialed my cell phone and I answered while the doctor was attending to me, allowing him to grasp the gravity of my situation (severe concussion) and promptly arrange a flight to be by my side.

We learned the medical reason for my collapse was based on exhaustion, an undetected UTI infection, and an over 101 fever with no visible signs, except for physical and mental malaise. I’m the one who typically energizes and motivates people, and my energy had become non-existent.?

The ambulance responded within two minutes at the airport.? What ultimately saved my life was that I read in the report that “bystanders jumped in to break the fall.” Had it not been for these angels, I don’t know what would have happened in addition to the concussion and external bleeding that ensued. You pray differently when confronted with a sudden and near-fatal injury.

I am immensely grateful for the unwavering support of my Las Vegas friends who went above and beyond to accompany me and provide for my needs during my hospital stay. Their visits and the time they dedicated to being by my side are etched in my heart forever. Reflecting on the journeys we undertake and the connections we forge in distant corners of the world, I'm reminded of the inherent vulnerability of being alone without contingency plans in times of personal emergency.

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One second can change your life. I am sharing this with you because I know that you, and hundreds of others, travel alone every day like I’ve been doing for 30+ years.

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Some thoughts to ask yourself:????

• Do you have Emergency Contact accessibility?

I recall many years ago being taught to include ICE in my contacts on my mobile device.? I have an ICE contact, but how is it accessed if one needs to unlock their device for accessibility??

• What can be done as a backup to this situation???

Contact information can be added to luggage tags or bag tags. One can carry their business cards in pockets with emergency numbers on them.

• What and how can devices help with this?

Following this incident, I visited the Apple store and met with a rep and security person. It’s complicated. If you search for how devices can help in emergencies, you receive information based on specific carriers and products. There is NO universal protocol that I could find among all the many useful things a device can do.

• Have you memorized at least one emergency phone number??

This was the strict advice by all the nurses in the Trauma area. Do you carry a list of written Emergency numbers in case you do not have access to your device? Do you have a ‘code’ to text someone in an emergency – if you are conscious enough to do so??

• When you travel, is there someone who knows your schedule at home or the office as a backup to check on you if there is no response?Make sure there is. Keep people in the loop and create a protocol or routine so they know what to expect in communication as you travel.
• Is there a Universal protocol travelers can be made aware of – or a card to carry on and in luggage – for contacts to respond to on your behalf? ? ? ?Remember to fill out the Emergency Contact in your airline record locator profile and keep it updated. The hospital obviously – and thankfully – went through my wallet for Identification, i.e. driver’s license, etc. It is important to carry ID all the time – even walking or running alone.?

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I owe my life to the bystanders and the team at Sunrise Medical Center and Rehab in Las Vegas. What precautions do you take? What can we do to make people aware??

?Do me a favor: don’t push yourself, and always carry emergency contact info.?