Traveling to treatment looks a little different for everyone.

Most of our families travel by car, others by plane, train or taxi, but the common thread is parents getting their child to treatment. Together these four families have made hundreds of trips and have traveled thousands of miles. They are giving us a little insight into their journey in hopes of helping other families who may just be starting their cancer journey.

Grace starts off by preparing the night before and tells us that getting gas the night before an appointment is the first thing she checks off her list. She says, “Selah will typically be sleeping on the way there and he definitely sleeps on the way back. As a single parent, it’s harder to get gas during the commute and the last thing you want to do is wake a child who isn’t feeling very well.”

The morning of travel, Grace will make sure to grab a special treat for the ride, a coffee for herself and a donut for Selah. She then turns on specific playlists made for the ride that helps on the way there. 

Grace says, “I make sure to prepare everything physical the night before. The day of travel is always more about my emotional and mental preparation.  Most importantly, we never leave without Charlie, Selah’s favorite stuffed animal! Oh, and make sure to dress comfortably!”

Alyssa began traveling 3 hours, one way, for her son Karter’s treatment when the twins were 5 months old. So she has always had to be creative! Alyssa always makes sure the car is ready with lots of activities and lots of snacks for the road. Some of her go-to activities are activity books with stickers, car-friendly puzzles, coloring pages, and a lap tray for these activities. Then, to keep them awake on the long rides home before bedtime, Alyssa would have a playlist of sing-a-long kids music and would use her hands to interact with the songs to keep them laughing and engaged.  

Alyssa says, “As the boys got older and were potty trained, I actually bought a portable urninal, similar to the ones they use at the hospital, to take with us. This helped us avoid lots of accidents with young children on long car rides with lots of traffic.”

“Now that the boys are almost 7 and love video games, the Nintendo switch for car rides to the hospital has been great,” Alyssa tells us!. She says, “The attachment that latches onto the back of the seat in front of them so they can play two player without one of them straining or hurting their necks is also a must!”

Alyssa’s final tip: Neck pillows for the car!

Tanya, Tenley’s mom, tells us that preparing for travel starts the day before by getting gas. Getting Tenley out of the care in the cold, especially with COVID, and going inside a gas station is not an option for her.   

Tanya also says that taking extra clothes is definitely a must for any unforeseen accidents, nausea, and spills. 

Tanya says, “Last, but definitely most importantly, we take snacks and drinks for traffic.  We leave our house at 4:30 am for 8am treatment in Chicago. And traffic going in and out of the city is so unpredictable that we never know how long it will last.”  

Priscilla’s biggest tip to other parents going through their own personal journey with childhood cancer is, “Be strong for your child but also take care of yourself. You are no good to helping them if you are not taking care of yourself. Parents like us tend to try and take on so much.”

She also says, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Organizations like Compass to Care are out there to help make this journey less bumpy. The uplift and turn over of your lives is already hard to deal with. And always remember to walk by faith, not by sight. There will be days that things don’t look like they are going to be alright, but they will be.”

Thank you to our families for sharing their tips on how to make traveling a little easier with a child braving cancer. Click here to find out how you can help more kids like Selah, Karter, Tenley, and Alex.