Americans are such an adventurous lot and there’s definitely a lot out there who are looking for creative means of financing and preparing for an overseas adventure. Here’s the story of Mr. Larry White who decided to travel for 42 hours to the farthest country from America, New Zealand for his unique adventure.
Background
Larry developed hypertension and had been taking maintenance medication for several years. Finally, he just decided to take care of the problem at its root. Through psychiatry, he discovered that his family was his source of stress along with his work and so, he decided to take a short trip away from them. His employer and family gave him 6 months.
Larry was a collegiate varsity tennis player and recalled that most of his happier moments where inside the tennis court so, he took that as a cue and applied for a Working Holiday Visa in New Zealand where there were a lot of tennis coaching jobs.
Medical Contingency
New Zealand is one of those countries that have the four different seasons running through the day. It starts off with a little bit of spring in the morning, hot summer at noon, a drizzly autumn in the afternoon and a cold winter in the evening.
Coming from Nevada where the weather is usually uniform for a whole season, Larry new that he will likely get sick because he is not used to quick changes in temperature.
Now, Larry doesn’t have anybody there in New Zealand, no relatives or friends at all. All he had was a certain Mr. Kevin Woolcott who was the head of a tennis facility called Tennislife NZ as an employer who wouldn’t care less but to expect him to be active and available throughout his 6-month coaching contract.
Flu Vaccine
The only thing that can bring Larry down was if he caught the flu. So, even before buying a new pair of shorts for his was still of the old where the shorts barely extended beyond the crotch, tight fitting and checkered; Larry went to CVS Pharmacy to get a flu shot.
Whatever it cost, it’s well worth it because it is a “must”. If he caught the flu in New Zealand two financial disasters would have happened.
First, he’ll have to see a doctor there so he can get a prescription for flu medicines. He’d have to spend a lot of money in such a case.
Second, the flu will probably keep him bed-side for a week. That means a week of no coaching pay. As a double whammy, he will still need to come up with the cash to pay for his weekly room rental of $150.
Since the evening can get very cold there in New Zealand even during summer, there is a chance of the flu progressing into something more severe like pneumonia.
Larry will not request for a copy of his medical records to take with him on his trip even for that possibility. But in such a case, Larry will have to be confined and undergo series of tests before any treatment can proceed. Can you imagine how many zeros that will add to that number after the dollar sign?
Beyond all these costs, the flu shot saved Larry and his family the burden and stress of having him sick at the farthest corner of the world.
And so after the flu shot Larry got everything else he needed together and went for his 6 month working holiday trip to New Zealand.
When he got back stateside, he recounts having the flu in New Zealand, or something like it.
The weather changes were really that sudden and extreme. He sweat from his coaching work and was exposed to cold air, wind and rain showers afterwards. But, since he had flu shot protection, the flu didn’t put him down. He still felt a bit of warm air steaming from his eyes but, there were no joint pains or any other uncomfortable feeling.
Larry had flu shots before but nothing of that sort happened in Nevada. Maybe it was the extra harsh weather in New Zealand and the physicality of his work that triggered what we might call a partial flu. Most probably it was just a cold that did not pursue to flu because of the flu shot. But nonetheless, the flu shot worked under the extreme heat and chills of New Zealand.
There was another coach named Rade from Montenegro who had no flu shot protection and caught flu. Boy did he get the worst week ever in New Zealand.
Get Your Flu Shot!
There is something very important to learn from Larry White’s experience.
Having your yearly flu shots will provide you with a year’s protection from the flu virus. While it is important to have this shot for the regular course of your life wherever you live, the flu shot is even more important when you have to travel because the risk of acquiring the flu and the hassles and stress that come with it are doubled when you are in a foreign land, especially when you are unaccompanied.
So, take your yearly flu shots so you will be free from the flu and its burden wherever you may roam.
