About Liz Hamill

Photo of Liz Hamill (c) Michelle Hamilton

I’m Liz Hamill–formerly Liz Hamill Scott–author of the Moon California, Moon Northern California, Moon Southern California, and Moon Coastal California travel guidebooks. It took me more than a year to research and write these books. Research consisted of traveling the length and breadth of what turned out to be a really muckin’ big state on weekends, while working full time from home during the week. And writing the book text, of course.

All of this while dealing with moderate and deteriorating chronic pain.

As I traveled, I learned that my chronic pain and my bladder disease make me a “special needs” traveler.

Bladder disease = embarrassingly frequent need for restrooms. Many other conditions, including “drinks a lot of water on road trips,” can also cause this need.

Chronic pain gets more complicated. Sometimes I can hike five miles and have dinner at a four-star restaurant later the same night. Other times I can stagger five feet, then collapse in a moaning heap. Can I predict which day will be which with any reliability? Of course not. Where’d be the fun in that?

If you suffer with fibromyalgia, lupus, endo, PCOS, cancer, just plain chronic pain, and all the other fun diseases that can cause this kind of unreliable health, you know just what I’m talking about.

The single most important thing I learned was that I CAN travel with pain. Even better, traveling diminishes my pain. Real science backs the theory that both bright shiny distractions and the experience of pleasure can diminish pain.

I learned many different ways to mitigate my pain while on the road. From asking for ground-floor rooms in motels to seeking out seating in museums, planning ahead for comfort and staying flexible enough to break for a nap, I’ve devised dozens of strategies to keep myself as happy and comfortable as possible while traveling. I’m always checking out my surroundings when I travel too–viewing and “reviewing” the attractions, lodgings, and dining options around me with an eye for special and unusual needs.

I hope some of my strategies work for you too! If you’ve got your own secret key to easier traveling, please comment here–I’d love to try it out, and to host you as a guest blogger.

31 Comments »

31 Responses

on September 24, 2009 at 8:36 pm | Reply L F Matthews

Hi Liz,

I’ve added you to my interesting links/blogroll and wish you would do the same.

I’m a chronic pain patient (run over, literally, in 1976, 3 breaks in my lower back, 5 in my pelvis, some nerve damage) and “talk” from time to time about dealing with pain/limitations/travel…

as far as Paris museums… ask for a wheelchair/map… when I was in Paris this spring and went to the Louvre I got a chair, and a map marking special doors etc for chairs… and at the mona lisa I got to go IN FRONT of the rail.

ttyl
on October 25, 2009 at 6:12 pm | Reply sharon goldman

So nice to come upon this blog…giving me some much-needed inspiration during a tough time, my 5th year dealing with chronic myofascial and musceloskeletal pain.

Best,
Sharon
- on October 26, 2009 at 3:08 pm | Reply lizscott
  
  Sharon, thanks so much for reading, and for your kind words. You have no idea how much it means to me to know that this blog helps people.
  
  I am so sorry you’ve been suffering for so long–chronic pain just sucks. (I’m on year 6.5 myself.) I hope that you’re having a good day today, and that you’re able to find relief.
on December 8, 2009 at 11:05 pm | Reply Curvalicious

Hi Liz

Your blog is a really good idea.

I’ve suffered chronic pain for over 2 years, and like you, have my better days, as well as those where just a few steps are agony.

I have to prepare myself well for days out – knowing where I can park the car (as close as possible); whether there are lifts (elevators) if necessary; is the seating there comfortable enough, or do I need to bring a pillow?; make sure I have my medical supplies…and so on. Having understanding people about you is a great plus (emtional and physical support although you are determined to be as independent as is possible!).

Leisure or optional days out are another thing, thank goodness for the net so I can peruse online: museums, restaurants, training centres and the such so I can make an informed choice of whether to go – that I am able to park near enough and that there isn’t too much walking involved!

I’ve always wanted to cross the Pond to visit SF. But in my current condition, seeing all those hills is a little intimidating!

All the best!
on February 8, 2010 at 2:50 pm | Reply writingtravel

Liz,

Thank you for “coming out” with your strategies for traveling with unpredictable chronic pain.

I also travel with severe, disabling pain that makes every day an unexpected adventure, and I agree that the distraction of experiencing novel places is the best painkiller.

In fact, travel is my favorite drug! Looking forward to reading more.

Lanora @WritingTravel
- on February 8, 2010 at 3:06 pm | Reply lizscott
  
  Hi Lanora, thanks for reading! I’m looking forward to checking out writingtravel.com. Though I’m sorry you have chronic pain, I’m so happy to read that you have overcome it enough to travel. Travel is definitely my favorite drug too.
  
  Though it can sometimes be uncomfortable to talk about myself and my physical problems “in front of everybody,” I also find it liberating. It doesn’t seem as big and bad if I’ve written about it, and I can use my own blog posts to remind myself that I *can* leave the house.
  
  If you’d ever like to write a guest post for TravelsWithPain, please let me know! You can reach me at lizscott04 at gmail dot com.
on February 11, 2010 at 2:26 pm | Reply Bryant Abel

Hi Liz, my name is Bryant, I am a student in Seattle WA, i recently started a travel insurance blog. Would you be interested in partnering with our site? We would love to be a resource for your readers on where to find travel insurance information and resources. I love your site.

We want people to be safe when they travel abroad.
Please let me know if your interested.
Thank you,
Bryant
on June 14, 2010 at 3:08 pm | Reply Jeanne

Hi Liz!

I just found your blog when I noticed you are following mine on NetworkedBlogs. I’ve lived with chronic illness/pain for 28 years and managed to travel a fair amount for many of those. Yes… endometriosis, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis and many other conditions have presented their challenges.

However, the biggest obstacle by far that I now face regarding travel is multiple chemical sensitivity. Hotels are automatically out of the question for me. The toxic commercial cleaning products they use make me very ill. Hotels are even worse than malls for me… and that is saying a lot!

We tried a bed and breakfast last summer that I had “pre-screened” by phone and it was a nightmare. The detergent and/or fabric softener used on the sheets was so terrible that we DROVE HOME and got our own sheets to put on the bed. While this extra car time was not kind to my body, the alternative would have been to check out and go home three days early. (Fabric softeners contain carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, etc. that are not healthy for anyone but that cause an MCS patient like be to become very ill).

It makes me sad that I am holding my family back from travel but me going places and fainting or having severe respiratory problems or having a headache so bad that I can’t function isn’t good either.

We still try to be creative and find ways to travel but every time we do I get so sick that we end up wondering whether it made any sense at all to go. In a fantasy world where we could afford to purchase an MCS-friendly Airstream trailer to sleep in (not to mention something to pull it), our options would be greatly expanded. In the meantime, we keep trying to find a way to travel without me becoming very ill from doing so. I’m happy to find your blog.

Jeanne
- on June 14, 2010 at 3:33 pm | Reply lizscott
  
  Hi Jeanne,
  
  Thanks for reading!
  
  I am sorry to hear about the MCS keeping you from traveling as much as you like. But I do understand–a couple of my close friends have varying degrees of MCS, and they have some troubles similar to those you describe. I wonder–have you and your family ever tried renting an RV?
  
  Would you be at all interested in writing a guest post for me sometime about traveling with MCS? I think it would be a great topic for my blog, and it’s not something I have personal experience with. I’ll also ask my friends the same thing–perhaps I can put together a multiple guest-tip post on the subject.
  
  All the very best to you,
  Liz
on June 19, 2010 at 6:17 am | Reply Stephanie

Hi Liz,

I’m glad to have found your blog! I haven’t traveled much for a variety of reasons (mostly- parents who hate travel, lack of money, lack of time, etc.) but I *want* to travel. I just got back from my first trip abroad (and first flight) to Japan. My SO and I wrote a blog about it together, which we are still updating currently. You might find some of the posts interesting as I do mention IC. My most recent post is about toilets in Japan, in fact Anyway, I hope you keep travelin’ and sharing your tips!

~Stephanie
on July 1, 2010 at 5:42 am | Reply Loretta

I’m glad to have found your blog! I haven’t traveled much for a variety of reasons (mostly- parents who hate travel, lack of money, lack of time, etc.) but I *want* to travel. I just got back from my first trip abroad (and first flight) to Japan. My SO and I wrote a blog about it together, which we are still updating currently. You might find some of the posts interesting as I do mention IC. My most recent post is about toilets in Japan, in fact Anyway, I hope you keep travelin’ and sharing your tips!
+1
on July 21, 2010 at 6:56 am | Reply Michael horny

Hi, I would like to link exchange with my blog. Can you add my travel blog http://flightjourney.wordpress.com/ ?
on August 19, 2010 at 9:49 am | Reply Linda Dale (Nannidale)

Dear Liz,

I stumbled across this blog when a friend posted it on facebook.

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for writing this inspiring blog!

I have lupus and fibro and as I have gotten older (I’m 58), travel has become increasingly difficult. I have finally limited it to a 1 hour drive to visit my daughter, (I have to rest overnight in order to be able drive back) and a 2-hour flight to visit my elderly father.

My last real trip was to Scotland in 1996, and was so harrowing that I have never gone on another one.

Your blog has inspired me to think differently about to travel – to believe that perhaps I can do it again and still manage my pain.

I am a widow, and, having no friends who can afford to travel, would have to go alone. This presents what I have felt to be, until today, an insurmountable challenge. Perhaps it isn’t insurmountable – simply a challenge that can be met and overcome.

You can be sure that I will be reading your blog and your books. You are an inspiration!

Many, many thanks,
Linda
- on August 23, 2010 at 1:32 pm | Reply lizscott
  
  Hi Linda
  
  Thank you right back atcha! Your comment made my whole day–it’s so wonderful to know that this blog really does help people.
  
  I hope you are able to travel again. Just so you know–healthy people who drive for an hour, stay overnight, then come home often call it a “weekend getaway.” But seriously, even if you don’t start with Scotland it sounds like you could still manage on-continent trips. If you’re driving, could you possibly spring for a friend to join you? I often offer friends a bed in my hotel room and food if they’re willing to road-trip with me. For them, it’s a job, not charity. They often end up doing all the driving, carry the bags, and deal with various practical tasks.
  
  Let me know if you need help with a specific topic that I haven’t written about yet–I enjoy taking requests!
on August 22, 2010 at 10:55 am | Reply Judy Wells

Liz

I’ve been fortunate enough to elude permanent chronic pain but my joints are another matter. Have had both knees replaced – after 6 years of traveling in pain and with a cane on one, 5 years with the other – and am now rehabbing a newly replaced hip. If I live long enough, arthritis will probably get to the other one, too. Thank goodness for replacements. It beats staying at home.

As a result of all this – like you, I’m a travel writer and kept going – I became very aware of reaching places with less strenuous walking and fewer stairs and hills whenever possible. Figuring I wasn’t the only one – just look at all the scar stripes down knees next time you go to the gym – I started the Travel on the Level website and blog, http://www.travelonthelevel.blogspot.com for others in a similar predicament.

Would love to get your comments on my efforts and perhaps exchange links for our readers.
on August 23, 2010 at 4:16 pm | Reply Christina Baita

Hello again.

I forgot to mention that I am also a flight attendant (13 years now) and although I have had 5 surgeries over the last few years, I keep going and have learned to work around the difficulty of living with chronic pain caused by Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis and RLS.

It can be done and it can be fun! Simply know your limitations and work around them.

Happy travels!
on January 27, 2011 at 2:41 pm | Reply Michell Haase

Hi Liz,

First of all I wanted to say it was great meeting you this past weekend at the SATH conference. I hope that your travel back to CA was pleasant and safe. The blog is great; we have shared it with our Facebook followers, in hopes of bringing our friends at TravelinWheels.com who travel with pain to gain from your expertise.

Looking forward to talking with you soon!

Best regards,

Michell Haase
Founder, TravelinWheels
on February 1, 2011 at 3:06 pm | Reply Rick Goldstein

What a delightful accident it was finding your blog!
- on February 1, 2011 at 6:30 pm | Reply lizhamillscott
  
  Rick, I’m so pleased to “meet” you! Your shower-commode chairs look like they’d be the answer to a prayer for many travelers with disabilities.
  I’m so glad you’re enjoying Travels With Pain! Let me know if you’ve got any questions about traveling with chronic pain–I’m always happy to answer reader queries.
on February 2, 2011 at 8:40 am | Reply Rick Goldstein

No questions about chronic pain while traveling; gotta admit I’m an expert on that myself! 8…(
on May 11, 2011 at 9:36 am | Reply Tim Connelly

Hello Liz,

I saw your post on Joyce Bender’s comment on LinkedIN and I would like to ask you a question, if I may, and I’d like you to contact me at my email address, please?

For one thing, you and I have something in common, we’re both published authors. But, I would like to ask you about your line of work.

So, if you’d contact me via the email address which I needed to provide in order to post this I’d appreciate it. Thank you.

Tim
on May 12, 2011 at 4:40 pm | Reply Allison Murray

Dear Liz,

I came across your blog today and think it is a great inspirational resource! I have been in multiple car accidents that have left me with persisting mild back pain for the past few years. While traveling it has sometimes become unbearable from carry heavy bags and running around everywhere- but I never let that stop me from experiencing and finding joy in new places. I’m interning at AFAR and learning all I can about travel. I hope to start an inspiring blog like you and was wondering if you have any tips for a young writer with too many ideas?

Also I’d like to keep your contact info on file at AFAR and I was wondering if you have a direct email address or phone number I could keep? I would greatly appreciate it!

Keep up the good work!

Allison
on August 9, 2011 at 8:49 pm | Reply Karin

Hi Liz,

A mutual friend told me about your website; I have a daughter with special needs, and I myself have Crohn’s, but you have to keep living, right? I just started writing, my blog is http://www.specialneedstravelmom.com and I also write for http://www.travelingmom.com. Thanks for your honesty and great information, I look forward to reading more from you!

Karin
- on August 10, 2011 at 5:29 pm | Reply lizhamillscott
  
  Hi Karin,
  
  Thanks for reading! One of my best friends and frequent traveling companions has Crohn’s too. That’s a rough go.
  I’m so excited to see your blog, and look forward to following it and linking it up here. Would you be interested in guest posting here on TWP–maybe doing a post-trade (I could post on your blog, and you on mine)?
  
  Happy travels, and I hope you’re having a pain-free and flare-free day!
  
  –Liz
on August 21, 2011 at 6:09 pm | Reply Shelly Jackson

Hello Liz,

I live in Berkeley and I too am living with chronic and debilitating pain. At 27, I often struggle with physically and emotionally feeling like an 87 year old in an otherwise healthy and extremely youthful and energized spirit and body. My mother (on the East Coast) shared your blog with me. I maintain (somewhat irregularly, lately) a blog about my journey with pain. You can find it at http://imapainiac.tumblr.com/

I’d love to talk with you about guest blogging, and/or about successfully publishing a book. I love the blog!

be well, shelly
- on August 24, 2011 at 7:10 pm | Reply lizhamillscott
  
  Hi Shelly,
  
  Thanks so much for commenting! I’ve checked out your blog, but haven’t had time yet to read much. I loved some of the pix!
  
  I am sorry to hear about your pain. I know what you mean about feeling like you’re 87 rather than 27–I got sick when I was 28. It’s very tough to be young and in chronic pain–our society really doesn’t know what to do with us.
  
  Yes, let’s talk about guest blogging! And I’d be happy to chat with you about publishing books. Maybe sometime we could meet in person, even.
  
  Take care, and hope you’re having a pain-minimal week,
  Liz
on August 24, 2011 at 6:53 pm | Reply Pat Pheifer

Liz,

Wondering if you’d be willing to talk to me (a newspaper reporter) about how airlines, particularly Delta, deal with people with disabilities or illnesses. I’m doing a story for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, MN, for Sept. 4. I work 3-12 (Central time). If possible, give me a call, 612-673-7252, or send me an e-mail: pat.pheifer (at) startribune (dot) com

I found your blog after reading comments on the Delta blog about how they’ve made changes to accommodate disabled travelers.

Hope to hear from you soon!

P.
on August 29, 2011 at 3:41 pm | Reply Verity

Hi Liz,

Just wanted to say thank you for blogging about this! I just found your blog via Traveler Voice and added it straight to my links page:

http://www.withsparkles.com/travel-links/

I really appreciate that somebody is talking about the difficulties of travel with chronic pain and disabilities and I’ll definitely be following your blog.
on August 29, 2011 at 3:46 pm | Reply Karin

Hi Liz, I’d love to guest post and have you as a guest on my blog, thanks! Sorry for the belated reply, summer’s gotten away from me. Let’s talk – email me – karin@specialneedstravelmom.com

Have a great evening!

Karin
on December 31, 2011 at 3:05 pm | Reply Sophie

It wasas so lovely to bump into your blog today as I research holidays for the disabled. For fifteen years that is all I’ve ever done….researched. I live in Ireland and long to travel as I used to years ago. I made a brief stab at it last September, just a ferry trip and overnight stay to Wales, but Hurricane Katia hit the Irish Sea that very day and I was grounded.

Your piece about setting holiday boundaries with family is very important. I have a lovely extended family but because they only see me on good days, buoyed up with pills and rest they have no idea how bad my chronic Lymes gets. Every year since my son was little we have rented a huge house together on the Atlantic. But the last time I did it, three years ago, was hideous. I felt so exhausted and full of pain and a terrible burden to them. I also am the only one who can’t drive. By the end of the week I had only seen the sea twice, and one of those times was left standing for ages as my two brothers went for a long walk together and I couldn’t get back into the car, or sit down.

I found the whole experience utterly humiliating and terribly lonely. I realised how narrow my horizons have had to become and how for healthy people my world is utterly unknowable. So I’ve never gone back.

But I’m getting brave again. My dream is to leave the shores of Ireland, somehow, even though I can’t fly. And I’m considering the family holiday again but only if I am very clear beforehand about what I can and can’t do. I will need to rest most of the day, but would love every evening to go to the seashore with someone to support me, just for five minutes. And one evening I would love to go again to Brandon Head and watch the dolphins play in the sunset. The rest of the time I will read and rest. And I can’t be on the huge clean up rotas, clearing up a dinner for 10 people singlehandedly. Last year I would just go back to my room and weep with pain. It’s up to me to change all of this. I want to prepare and clean up after my own meals however anti-social this seems.

I think the hardest thing to accept, being the eldest of five, is that I am no longer big strong sister. I’m slightly scary, wonky sister who looks well but does very little. And I have my own self-perceptions to battle. To not let my own internal Prebyterian culture call me ‘lazy, useless, drama-queen’. In fact the opposite is true. I’ve been feeling a little worse than usual this week but yesterday pushed myself to walk around the block as movement had become so painful that I thought lazing around after Christmas had seized my joints more than normal. I felt so frozen and sore again last night I took my temperature. It was102F. Far from being lazy I had pushed through a week of that to cook, clean, and perform my duties for my family. I think most healthy people with a temp of 102 would be immovable in bed.

Thank you so much for the free association I’ve done here. It helps to let it all out. I’m generally positive and manage my care very well. So much so that very few people understand the pre-planning and pre-emptive rest that is taken before any outing. But today I was just a bit blue. Longing to fly away as I used to; round Europe and up into the Arctic, but almost scared to dream again. But being 50 has galvinazed me. If not now, when?:]
- on January 6, 2012 at 2:31 pm | Reply lizhamillscott
  
  Sophie, thanks so much for reading and commenting here! I’m sure that many people who read this blog will be able to identify with the story you’ve told us. I know I do! Right down to that little inner voice that tells me I’m a “lazy drama queen” even as a bolt of pain rips through me and I collapse onto the floor. Sigh.
  
  You make the coast of Ireland sound so beautiful! I’ve never been to Ireland, though I’ve got some Irish blood in me. It’s gotten high on my bucket list lately–I’d love to get some recommendations from you about what I must see, and how to travel through the countryside without inducing any major flares.
  
  I do so hope that you’re able to travel soon! I agree totally–NOW is always a great time to travel, to get out, to live. I won’t lie to you: when you travel it’s going to be hard. It’s probably going to hurt. But I recommend traveling anyhow–to me at least, it’s totally worth it.
  
  Please let me know if I can help you as you plan your next trip. I’m always happy to answer reader questions as best I can.
  
  Wishing you a happy and pain-minimal New Year!