Doctors Go Along : Respiratory Patients Gain Access to World on Cruises

Tom Flores has suffered from emphysema for most of his 70 years, but over the past 10 it has been so hard to breathe that he did not dare stray far from home during vacations.

Then, last year, a medically supervised cruise sponsored by John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek gave Flores the chance to see the world, worry-free.

Such cruises are relatively new and are designed to give respiratory patients who suffer from emphysema, asthma and chronic bronchitis a chance to travel under the watchful eyes of a medical support staff and its equipment.

Cruise to Acapulco

Ross General Hospital in Marin County has joined the effort to provide safe vacations for its respiratory patients by sponsoring a two-week cruise to Acapulco.

“These people never get out,” said Nanette Flaherty, Ross’s director of respiratory care. “Most are really afraid to travel. We’re giving them the opportunity to feel secure.”

Respiratory patients use oxygen from portable tanks and often must breathe through tubes, she said. The portable tanks must be refilled by 40-liter tanks, but many airlines prohibit their use on board. Medical care overseas also is difficult to arrange.

The medical staff--two doctors and a specialist--care for the patients if problems arise and supervise exercise programs on the ship, Flaherty said.

The hospital is providing $10,000 to cover the staff’s cruise costs and salaries, she said. Ron Andrews of San Rafael donated about $2,000 worth of liquid and gas oxygen.

Prices for patients range from $1,596 to $2,076 per person.

‘A Lot of Support’

“Patients don’t go anywhere. It’s a big effort for them to go to the store,” Flaherty said. “They feel like they’re drowning. It’s a very frightening feeling. They need a lot of support.”

Flaherty said the hospital will try to make the cruise an annual or biannual event. She also wants to include heart patients on the trip.

“Our goal is to improve the quality of life for these patients and teach them how to be independent,” she said. “Adding other types of patients will be a piece of cake.”

A similar cruise was successfully sponsored last year by John Muir Hospital. Dr. Dana Palmer, director of respiratory services and cardiology, said about 40 people went on the trip.

The hospital did not pay the staff’s way, but it did give them time off. Palmer said medical supply companies donated oxygen and paid the way for the doctors, practitioners and exercise leaders.

Pushing for Hawaii

“We couldn’t have done it any better,” he said. “Now, (patients) are pushing us to go to Hawaii.”

While another major cruise is being planned, the hospital is taking patients on one-day excursions to Napa Valley and the Monterey Peninsula. Palmer said a vacation for terminally ill patients also is being considered.

Flores of Pleasant Hill said he would never have taken a vacation if the hospital had not sponsored the medically supervised cruise.

“It just wouldn’t have occurred to me,” he said.