“Two plane tickets, one for me and one for my HIV”!
JOAN RIVERS: English v Americans
Since turning 39 last year I have had a whole year, if not a lifetime to organise something for my milestone 40th Birthday. Fact is I have never been big on ‘birthdays’ and always recall as a child mother in the kitchen reassuring friends and extended family “…he just doesn’t get excited for birthdays, never has, it’s just not him”.
And it’s not a case of me being one miserable bastard or the embodiment of the ‘devil child’. I would smile and be grateful and appreciative of gifts and well wishes but I was never one of those kids that totally loses their shit and jumps up and down screaming with joy. A phrase I often repeat now I am an adult “I’m English, not American”. Of course, the older you become the more aware you are at adding ‘layers’ in your appreciation to ensure you don’t offend.
India, New Delhi to be exact was what I intended to do for my 40th Birthday. I sought guidance from my Indian friends, who said December was an ideal time to go because “you won't find the temperature uncomfortable”. Why India, well to pay my respects to my Great Uncle Alfred Hampson who died of Dysentery aged 21 in 1939 and is buried in New Delhi War Cemetry.
And I can’t explain why I kept telling myself that I’d start making arrangements ‘next week’. I wasn’t sure if it was due to Covid-19 in India floating around on the news. And my concern only would be any covid infection meaning I couldn’t travel home as opposed to actually contracting covid-19 itself. Was vaccination an issue for entry given I am no longer vaccinated due to messaging by Islington Council and the court claim I brought against them [BLOG POST HERE] or was it my HIV status? All these things can be quickly researched on the internet. But I guess if any of these proved to be reason enough to refuse entry then I guess not knowing meant there was always hope I could go. I mean the only one that sticks out is my HIV status and I haven’t heard this is an issue in the past. The one place I’m certain you cannot travel to if you are HIV positive, is Russia and who wants to go there?
BACK DOOR: Boarding
Anyhow, November 2022 came and I was disappointed that I had not been as organised as I usually am so logged into the flight scanner website and set the dates, I’d be able to travel. 4th - 6th December with my birthday on the 5th. I’d pull on my Yorkshire roots and travel to the cheapest destination, France. Nah you're ok, what’s next? Barcelona.
Ok so my ex still lives in Barcelona and I used to travel over regularly so pretty much know it like the back of my hand. I have always scoffed at people who visit the same place more than once for their holiday, not being adventurous to see more of the world/country. But I wasn’t looking to go sightseeing, I want to kick back and relax. Not be stressed out with public transport, crowded attractions, and running around like Anneka Rice with my tourist map.
Before booking the flights at £19 each way I checked the covid-19 policy for Barcelona [Spain]. I was able to travel despite no longer being vaccinated for Covid-19. As my ex lives in Barcelona with HIV I know there are no travel restrictions, so, Booked!
So, my alarm goes off at 4am, and thankfully the Stanstead Express is running as there are no rail strikes, phew! I arrive at the airport and given it is only a 2-night trip I am traveling light with my backpack. My bottle of HIV medication is in my bag in its original bottle and clearly labelled. Well, security is a breeze, I sail through with no issues, and nobody bothers to check my medication. Ryanair welcome me on board with a cheery smile, the flight attendant spotting my ‘birthday boy’ badge and wishes me a happy birthday before personally escorting me to my pre-booked window seat. Flight FR5241 leaves on time at 7:05 am and the pilot announces we arrived ahead of our scheduled arrival time in Barcelona.
I make my way across the bridge of the airport and into the train station bound for Barcelona Sants station. I messaged my Portuguese ex to say I was in Barcelona to which he replied, “I am away on vacation”, rude! I arrive at the accommodation I had booked Àmfores Boutique Guest House. Having spent 22 years in hotel management I have become quite savvy about what to book. I can categorically state I had absolutely no urge to write in the comments section of my booking “its my birthday” or “celebrating 40th birthday”. Comments I used to read daily when preparing for VIP arrivals. People booking on the likes of booking.com expect the hotel to either upgrade or place a treat in their room. I always used to send them our ‘amenity’ menu for them to buy their own cupcakes and advise them of room availability for them to pay for an upgrade. My years were always in central London hotels, so we were always at full capacity so could advise them to check the availability on our own website if they grumbled that no ‘free’ upgrade was forthcoming for their ‘special occasion’.
I only ever, had one woman complain in all my years to the reception team that she left a note on her booking that it was her husband’s birthday and there was “…not even a cupcake in the room”. Naturally, the team called me to handle her as she was so irate. Most hotel systems I have used have the ability to leave ‘notes’ so I checked her notes and saw I’d sent her the amenity menu, twice, and I shared the dates I’d sent the menu to her. She screamed and shouted that “it’s my husband’s birthday and you did nothing for him” while we stood in the main lobby. “Exactly Mrs. Singh, he is ‘your’ husband, but I am not sure for how much longer given you stand here and declare, he wasn’t even worth £2.99 for a birthday cupcake”.
I wasn’t a grinch, but when I took over the role and calculated how much we were writing off the previous year it was more than the receptionist’s annual salary and as with hospitality, we all complained we’d not had a pay rise and were overworked and underpaid. I used to joke with the team and guests that they don’t book a flight with Easyjet and when they arrive at the airport expect to fly British airways. I did do nice things ‘complimentary’ when guests were not so grotesque as to ask. The reaction, therefore, was more sincere and heart-warming,
Anyhow, back to this long arse blog. I arrived at the ‘guest house’ in the gothic quarter of Barcelona. Check-in was a breeze and the room was just as it was pictured with its vaulted brick ceiling and a small balcony looking onto the narrow street with the imposing gothic dwellings.
I didn’t actually go!
I booked the hotel and the flights which were non-refundable. My alarm did go off at 4 am given I had forgotten to delete the reminder. And if you didn’t twig something was not right when I shared that the cabin crew on Ryanair gave me a “cheery smile” on-boarding, well…
So, given this was my first trip out of the UK since being diagnosed with HIV in March 2020. I wanted to get the low down on the procedure with my HIV medication. I traveled with my ex-partner extensively with his HIV medication and he never had any trouble. We were never stopped at security but then to be fair his tablets came in those foil sheets so he could take only the amount he needed in the box with his details on. And I guess I could transfer some from one bottle to an airtight container, so I only need to take what I needed and in the original container. But then I start having questions like, what if I get stranded? Covid, an ash cloud, or a strike in one country or another and I run out. What if the ones I leave at home get contaminated with say moisture and I have to throw the whole lot out on my return? And HIV medication is seriously expensive, not to me directly but to our NHS.
THE MIRROR: July 2022 - Click for full article
But the main thing that played on my mind was being stopped and questioned by airport security. So, as always, I turned to google to see what advice there was on this either from other PLWHIV or the relevant agencies. I stumbled upon several news articles about passengers carrying their medication in their hand luggage. The article shared this has been ‘the norm’ for years and that packing medication into the hold luggage was never advisable in case the hold luggage gets lost in transit.
The article states “Recently air travellers have reported being asked by security for a letter from their GP when they've brought medicine in their carry-on, despite only needing a prescription” [The Mirror]. I am not sure how this story came about as I said earlier my ex who is HIV positive travelled with me frequently and never had an issue. I didn’t think the article related to HIV and just as I was about to stop reading, I saw the next paragraph.
“Cheryl Gowar, senior policy and research manager at the National AIDS Trust - which campaigns for the rights of people living with HIV - also warned that the policy could lead to uncomfortable questions.
At the very least this creates real anxiety for people, particularly those who may be travelling with friends or family who don’t know their HIV status.
This is totally unnecessary and will exclude some people from flying.
It’s also not practical. Not all medications are prescribed by GPs. HIV medication often won’t show up on GP records or on apps linked to them.
We urge the airlines to rethink their guidelines and ensure they are inclusive for people living with HIV. Flying is stressful enough, and people living with HIV shouldn’t have to face these additional worries at the airport.”
So, I thought ‘bloody marvellous! But I thought I’d research it a bit more. I had absolutely no objection to being stopped by security and asking what the medication was for. But I do not have a prescription as 56 Dean Street has an onsite pharmacy, so I collect my medication at the same time I do my bloods. I have access to my NHS record, even the notes the doctors post bitching about me, honest. Anyway, HIV is listed on my medical record as a “chronic illness” under the category titled “serious”. But there is not a single record of who treats me for my HIV in terms of who provides me with medication. All my NHS record shows is the illness.
So I have no way of proving the medication I carry is for me and my illness. I do understand that 56 Dean Street on diagnosis, the confirmatory test as it goes. Reeled off a list of countries I could and couldn’t travel to now I was HIV-positive. And that for some countries 56 Dean Street could give me a letter to say the medication I am carrying is mine without specifying what it is for. I mean that’s a bit pointless as typing ‘biktarvy’ in google shows it is a HIV medication.
I then ended up on a UK government website that gave more detail on traveling through UK airports with medication. It stated that security has the right to remove medication from its packaging to inspect it. Well, that’s it, I’m not going. If I had known my HIV would potentially be scrutinised to such a degree, I’d have bought two plane tickets, one for me and one for my HIV!
I have no idea how they remove medication to inspect it, I assume not with their bare fingers. But even with gloves, I feel it inappropriate for someone to be touching my medication. It may be poured into a steel receptacle like a quarter of dolly mixture, I don’t know. But for me, I am not overly ‘OCD’ but touching food and medication is a no no for me.
I totally understood this was perhaps an overreaction, but I think having made my booking at short notice and only learning of this apparent issue now. Was not sufficient time for me to get my head around it. I mean I was only going for 3 days, 2 nights so I could go without medication for that short time surely? But then I’d break my 100% adherence of my medication since diagnosis. Which hung in the balance recently in this BLOG POST.
I might not even be stopped at all and permitted to pass with no event, but I am not that lucky. And while I would be entirely cooperative and had no concerns such as those mentioned in the article about sharing/declaring my HIV status.
FRY UP: A birthday coronary!
TREAT: Afternoon hot chocolate
I just felt if I was questioned, and some grubby-fingered security guard started fingering my medication I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from protesting. So, I thought I’d avoid the worry of the build-up and potentially being arrested for causing a scene that I just don’t go, it was easier.
As I am not arsed for birthdays, I’ll ensure I mark my 40th by doing something fitting within this upcoming 40th year where I can do my homework beforehand and perhaps get the paperwork I need to ensure I have a hassle-free trip. Instead, I had a lovely lazy day at home and really enjoyed it. I treated myself to a full English and later a hot chocolate. Spoke to some fab followers on my Instagram, and avoided friends messaging “is it your birthday today” to which I replied “god no, next week” with the intention next week telling them it was ‘last week’ if they follow up. I did some shopping online for some new slippers and I did a small DIY job I’ve been meaning to do on my window shutters. And as I finish off this blog post I am watching ‘Are You Being Served’?
