I was supposed to be going away to Malta today. Supposed to being the key word. Then I ended up in the ER because of a persistent headache, was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and was hospitalized for 5 days. The entire time I was in the ER and in the hospital, I kept telling everyone, my roommates, the nurses, the doctors, that I was going to Malta on Tuesday, so I needed to be discharged by Sunday latest.
Everyone asked me if I could maybe delay my trip, because flying is not the best thing for IIH, but I told them that I had non refundable tickets so if I didn’t go, it would just be throwing that money out. So I asked for advice on what to do to make the trip safest, since I would be doing it anyhow, and got advice.
I did a lot of research while I was in the hospital about what to do in Malta, and created an entire detailed itinerary that I got really excited about. I reserved spots on tours, found out about transportation, booked a second hostel for one night on the second island so I could get those things done.
And then I got released from the hospital.
And I’ve been basically non functional.
I can’t remember being more tired in my life. I get up, and then an hour or so later, I’m ready to crash. I’m not sure if this is because of recovering from the spinal tap (and do I perhaps have a cerebrospinal fluid leak, which can happen after, which is more common with people with EDS, especially since the neurologist who did mine told me that mine was more complicated than most because my vertebrae kept moving) or because of the medication they put me on to deal with the IIH which I already am having negative side effects from according to the blood test I took on the day I was discharged from the hospital, or because of the IIH itself, or simply because I was in the hospital and that was exhausting. Yes that was a run on sentence, and if you feel a little exhausted reading that… well then you can tell the teensiest fraction of how I feel.
I went shopping for some gluten free easy groceries to bring with me to malta, and for my kids to be able to prepare for themselves while I was gone, but standing in line with my groceries made me so wiped out that I ended up sitting outside the grocery store for about half an hour before I had the energy to walk to the car.
My daughter asked me how I’d handle my trip with that exhaustion, and I said I’d just have to cut some stuff off my planned itinerary.
And then I found out that, for reasons I can’t get into, my flight was canceled. My airline and nearly all the other airlines in the region canceled every single flight for the next few days, at the very least, leaving only the most expensive airline flying, and it doesn’t fly directly to malta, so getting there would be at least 4 times the cost of my original ticket and a big headache with lots of stopovers.
And when I got the email that it was canceled? To be honest, I wasn’t too upset.
My body was telling me that I wasn’t ready for this trip. I wanted to go anyhow because of the sunk costs that I wouldn’t be able to get back. But because the airline canceled my ticket, I got a full refund for a flight that usually is non refundable, $110.67 for priority boarding (because it’s the cheaper way to get a carry on bag).
So it was then time to see what other things I could get a refund on, or not.
I booked a hostel for a week in Sliema, Malta, right near the capital Valetta. It wasn’t so expensive, $138.94 since it was in a dorm. I also booked a one night stay in Victoria, Gozo, the medium sized island in the Malta archipelago for $39.95. I booked both of these through Agoda.com, which had a no refund policy, which I didn’t have a problem with because I wasn’t going to cancel my trip… but when I called them up and asked them for at least a partial refund or to switch my reservation to another date, since this was something entirely out of my control and not my just choosing to switch somewhere else. But unfortunately nope. So I’m out $178.89.
I paid $50 for travel health insurance, which I was shocked by, since one of the questions was “Were you hospitalized in the last 6 months?” and when I said “Yes, I’m getting discharged today” I was sure the price would be sky high, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Anyhow, they gave me a full refund.
I had booked 3 different tours, one cost 20 Euros, since Victoria, Gozo, doesn’t have free (pay by tip) tours, and I got that money refunded.
The last thing to find out is if my $8.90 Esim from Maya Mobile will be refunded. I requested, gave the reason, and now it’s up to them. Even if not refunded, at least that was the lowest cost of everything I laid out. Maya Mobile got back to me and gave me a full refund within less than an hour. I will be using them in the future, especially since, to begin with, they had the lowest pricing.
Yes, I am bummed out that my trip was canceled, but more bummed out about the not getting refunds from Agoda. I hope I get better soon and have more energy, and will be able to take my alone time trip quite soon.
Oh, and I can’t forget to add that after 5 days in the hospital, I’m glad my kids get to have me home instead of me yet again not being available.
As for the food that I bought for the kids to prepare while I’m gone? Still good purchases because I have no energy to be doing cooking now.
I still plan on posting about my trip, specifically the itinerary that I researched and planned well, because even if I can’t do it, I think others would really appreciate the information I found out on their next Malta trip.
Have you ever had a trip canceled last minute? Why was it canceled? How did you handle it? (I’m looking back and realizing that so far I’ve had a trip to Germany canceled, Venice, and Cyprus… and now Malta…)
