11 days in Italy, walking a problem, what would you do?

We made an award rez. to Italy last Dec., for an 11 day stay, and now my wife is recovering from a broken ankle (both leg bones at the ankle). She broke it in Jan. and is out of her cast but still can't walk very long before it gets sore. The Doc said it might have "some" swelling for a year (from Jan.).

Now we are contemplating canceling the trip because Italy, done right, will mean a lot of walking. Right? We were going to do 3-4 days in Rome, Florence & Venice. We'd take trains between the cities. We are 62 & 63.

Our only cost to cancel the trip would be $175 for AA to redeposit the miles. If we cancel we'll probably just reschedule for the fall of 2011. What would YOU do?

If it is only a $175 loss and you could get all the room reservations back - I'd seriously consider re-booking.

The cities you've mentioned are going to be much more interesting if you can walk around, and there are lots of hills, bridges, cobblestones, etc. that might be hard on an injured ankle. While you could do water taxis in Venice, it is really a walking city. Florence and Rome are going to be walking places as well. Otherwise, I'd think your expenses would be significant, and you wouldn't get to enjoy as many wonderful places. Markets, the gold bridge, all the museums, churches, etc. Plus you mention traveling by train. I assume this also means you will be dealing with luggage.

As long as you knew you could definitely make the trip the following year, I'd wait and make sure your ankle could handle days of walking. Do whatever therapy is suggested, though, and walk at home daily before your trip, so that you are used to being on your feet and you'll then have a great time!!

Italy is wonderful, but you should make sure you will enjoy it fully, and not come back reinjured, or regretful that you couldn't see and do all you hoped.

I agree with Scrapngen. Cancel and reschedule when your wife is able to walk without discomfort. Rome, Florence, and Venice should be explored by walking and walking and walking (plus taking the vaporettos in Venice). But, make sure you do reschedule -- you don't want to miss Italy!

Carl

cancel

I concur cancel and rebook. There are so many places that you'd have to opt out of because of the walking. The others could be painful but doable. Why put urself through this for such a small sum?

Postpone

til next year, but after what your DW has been thru, I would take her someplace very special & relaxing to replace this year's trip!

One of my good friends had both of his knees replaced in March. Late November we did 2 weeks in Eastern Europe - Budapest, Prague, Karlo Vary. One place we had rooms on the 4th floor of a walkup. The cobblestones/pavers really hurt him. Knees swelled. He was tired. He was not resting well at night because of the cramps.

We went back one year later, same two weeks last of November. Same area. Was in much better shape.


WAIT. REBOOK. That is my vote.

beejaybeeohio said:

til next year, but after what your DW has been thru, I would take her someplace very special & relaxing to replace this year's trip!

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I think that's a great idea!


Brian

I had hip replacement in Dec 09, and am leaving for Europe in 3 weeks. While I have no problems walking around here, and doing work on my horse farm, I am really hoping to be able to handle the long walks on the trip.

Really, I think the heat will be more of a problem for me than the hip, and my bunion on the other foot:

I would reschedule and go when you both will be able to enjoy it. Fall is nice in Italy, say mid-September to mid-October, before it starts getting too cool and dark. The tourist crowds will have thinned out some, too.

Thanks for the good feedback. Right now my wife says "postpone until next year". I think we'll wait awhile & hope that AA makes a schedule change and then we may be able to cancel w/o a fee. I'm sure some of you have used this "trick" to avoid cancellation/redeposit fees.

We are headed back to Hawaii (Maui) in January but she has promised to stay off uneven surfaces.

This is a good decision. I just got back last week from this exact trip and even without any foot problems I had a lot of foot swelling from the plane trip and then doing a tremendous amount of walking while we were touring. The good news is that both my knees were replaced about a year ago and they did great! It was an absolutely fabulous trip!

Did the same trip a couple of years ago and it was exhausting. You would be walking or on your feet almost all day. My vote is rebook until next year when you both will enjoy the experience.

Donna

We were in Venice, Florence and Rome for 11 days last month (after a week in Paris). We did a huge amount of walking. In addition, there are a lot of bridges to climb up and down in Venice. I am 59 and my husband is 62. We both work out on a very regular basis, so we had no problems walking many, many miles every day, but I was happy to put my feet up every night! I think postponing is a VERY good idea for you.

Hi Phil - Just a word for your wife: if she is having trouble with swelling if she walks on her ankle, it is really worthwhile to wear compression stockings. It REALLY helps. I broke my leg about 4 years ago and my son, 25, in massage therapy school told me that the swelling was interfering with my rehabilitation (something the doctor had not bothered to tell me about). getting the compressions stockings was a true life-saver.

Hope this helps!

elaine

We are leaving for Italy and Israel in October after I had all the tendons torn from my knee a year ago that is still healing. I followed advice from members on tripadvisor for areas to stay in Rome and Tuscany with planned tours, hop on/hop off buses to minimize walking and maximize seeing the major sites of Rome. We then decided to stay in Tuscany as a base site and do day trips to various cities within 2 hrs driving distance returning "home" each evening.

Israel is a fully guided tour for 11 days since we are unfamiliar with the country and the cost was well worth the money since we didn't have to plan for hotels, meals, and sights to see.

I vote to go ahead with your trip but do alot of prior planning to get the most enjoyment at the least cost.

glypnirsgirl said:

Hi Phil - Just a word for your wife: if she is having trouble with swelling if she walks on her ankle, it is really worthwhile to wear compression stockings. It REALLY helps. I broke my leg about 4 years ago and my son, 25, in massage therapy school told me that the swelling was interfering with my rehabilitation (something the doctor had not bothered to tell me about). getting the compressions stockings was a true life-saver.

Hope this helps!

elaine

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Nice tip, Elaine. Did you wear them in bed too?

Yes, getting around will be a challenge

This is a strange coincidence. I twisted my ankle a couple of weeks ago on the cobblestones of Piazza della Repubblica in Florence. Fortunately I was ok. But a week after returning to the US I did the same thing, this time badly sprained it, and have been on crutches for over a week now.

The first thing my husband said when I told him about my sprain (I was at my mother's at the time, 2 hours from our home) was, 'wow, it's good this didn't happen in Italy.'

Yes, you can get around, but it will be difficult. I concur with others above -- go in 2011. It will be more enjoyable, less stressful, less painful.

I did Italy several years ago on crutches. It wasn't pretty! Take the $175 loss and go when you can WALK, because there is a lot to see and it is best seen on foot.

The cobble stones made "walking" on the crutches even harder,and some of the roads that need to be crossed......well....just forget about it until she is completely healed.

Update:

We cancelled the award tickets a couple days & the fee was waived because there had been a schedule change. Thanks AA. The Starwood points should be back in my account by tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be somewhere in Europe in 2011.

Thanks for all the feedback.