Stories
Swimming with the sharks
Mon 16 Jul 2012
I recently travelled to the beautiful country town of Exmouth in Western Australia’s North Coast as part of a radio competition my fiancĂ© won. The best tip I can give you for travelling (when you have a bleeding disorder) is to be prepared!
I was asked by the airline for a letter from my doctor to carry my factor with me on the plane. They don’t usually ask this when flying domestically but as I learned, it’s best to be prepared just in case. I also think it’s a good idea to keep your factor VIII in mind when packing because you don’t want to leave it at home.
When we arrived in Exmouth my first impressions were how isolated and desolate it looked, with its two planes at the tiny airport and small amount of workers. Our resort was a little over 30 minutes away from the airport, all around us was the makings of a mining community with very spread out workplaces and lots of vacant land.
We spent a day swimming with the biggest fish in the ocean. The Whale Shark was amazing. We swam with four of the gentle creatures all around 5 metres in length but seeming to be a lot bigger. Being in 20 metre deep water was not for the faint hearted and we weren’t alone, we swam along with stingrays, manta rays, dugongs, dolphins and had the rare opportunity of watching a pod of Humpback Whales swim next to our boat. We were treated like royalty by the crew of the “Keshi-mur” enjoying fresh seafood, chicken, ham and all the salad and snacks we could fill up on. Even though swimming with the sharks wasn’t a strenuous activity, I still made sure I had some factor VIII before we left for the boat.
All and all it was a massive holiday, whether we were just lazing by the pool or swimming with 5 metre sharks, it sure beat being back in reality and working haha… I think the most important thing to know is that having a bleeding disorder doesn’t stop you from travelling. I encourage any young person to travel but to make sure you contact your haemophilia centre to find out what you have to do before you go. Finally, always remember to take a sharps container – you can get travel size ones now.
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