The Zika Virus Ruined My Future Vacation!!

Ckayla · July 2016

Hello ladies...

This is more so just a rant...So I was supposed to be going on a all girls trip to Puerto Rico in October. When I attended my first prenatal visit, I forgot to tell my dr. that I was going but in my packet, there was information regarding the Zika Virus. So I went on the CDC website to see the latest news regarding Zika and come to find out, Puerto Rico has been elevated to level two, meaning pregnant women should avoid going there. Of course when I called my dr. to get her opinion she strongly advised me not to go. UGH! I hate to sound selfish, but I was really looking forward to going on that trip! And to top it off, I wasn't able to get a full refund because my girlfriend didn't put insurance on the trip!

BTW...if you have a planned trip, going to a zika prone location outside of the country and booked before March 31st of this year, American Airlines will give you a full refund on your airline ticket. Unfortunatly we booked with AA Vacations

But that's all...my baby comes first not matter what! - it just would have been nice to get away from reality for awhile.

Vanessa00 · July 2016

Aw well that sucks

scifichick09 · July 2016

That's really unfortunate, I'm so sorry that happened to you!

cantalopes24 · July 2016

Yeah we are thinking about going on a Disney Cruise in a couple months and I'm trying to find one that stops places where it's safe. Mexico is a level 2 but Cozumel itself where the ship stops is OK. I didn't realize Puerto Rico was a no go until I was looking up Zika maps last nights.

Tennis11785 · July 2016

That sucks. My husband is semi-upset that we can't take a vacay to the Caribbean somewhere this year. Obviously, he understands why and wouldn't want to put the baby at risk, so he doesn't really complain. But you can tell he's disappointed since we were planning for about 2 years to go somewhere tropical for our 5th anniversary (this year).

FishyMom · July 2016

Bummer! The Bahamas is still clear can you change the location???

@tennis11785 can you look into this instead??

tentacular · July 2016

That sucks! I'd be heartbroken to miss my last baby-free vacay with the girls. Of course your LO is worth it, but I bet you're gutted.

cantalopes24 · July 2016

Tennis11785 said:

That sucks. My husband is semi-upset that we can't take a vacay to the Caribbean somewhere this year. Obviously, he understands why and wouldn't want to put the baby at risk, so he doesn't really complain. But you can tell he's disappointed since we were planning for about 2 years to go somewhere tropical for our 5th anniversary (this year).

There are some areas that are ok. I think the British Virgin Islands are ok (Tortola is one of the places we looked). I know the US Virgin Islands and Jamaica are risk areas though.

peachesnbean · July 2016

I had a friend who went through a mess like this. It's a medical reason for the cancelation so they should give you full refund? Or no??

Starfish113 · July 2016

We were supposed to go to St. Lucia in December. I haven't cancelled my trip yet (it's on my to-do list but I'm lazy!) but thankfully I got insurance and booked through AA.

i totally hear you being bummed though!!

Ckayla · July 2016

@vanessa00 yes it does...I just thought I was going to be sporting my baby bump on the beach lol

Ckayla · July 2016

@cantalopes24 yes it is and not to mention, I was supposed to go during the rain season when they are out more so than ever...ugh

Ckayla · July 2016

peachesnbean said:

I had a friend who went through a mess like this. It's a medical reason for the cancelation so they should give you full refund? Or no??

nope - we booked through AA vacations which they consider a 3rd party - so the only way I could have gotten a full refund is if the trip was insured and my friend wasn't thinking about insuring it at the time...smh I took a 300$ loss

Ckayla · July 2016

Starfish113 said:

We were supposed to go to St. Lucia in December. I haven't cancelled my trip yet (it's on my to-do list but I'm lazy!) but thankfully I got insurance and booked through AA.

i totally hear you being bummed though!!

Oh good for you! At least you have a refund to look forward too

Ckayla · July 2016

Tennis11785 said:

That sucks. My husband is semi-upset that we can't take a vacay to the Caribbean somewhere this year. Obviously, he understands why and wouldn't want to put the baby at risk, so he doesn't really complain. But you can tell he's disappointed since we were planning for about 2 years to go somewhere tropical for our 5th anniversary (this year).

This is our 5th year wedding anniversary too! Congrats to you and your hubby!

Starfish113 · July 2016

My friend didn't take out insurance but got a letter from her OB saying she was pregnant and was able to get a refund. Would that work?

PerraSucia · July 2016

I thought zika was only a risk during the first Tri and early second?

poetryandoceans · July 2016

*lurking from January 2017*

Unfortunately they've done studies that have found damages from exposure during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters as well

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/zika-virus-outbreak/study-finds-zika-damages-babies-all-stages-pregnancy-n532086

While the risk of microcephaly is highest in the 1st trimester, the virus can still attack the brain of developing fetuses later in pregnancy. The baby would not have the small head, because the head has already developed, but the brain can still be damaged. And there are risks of the placenta being damaged by the virus. We changed our vacation plans to avoid anywhere the virus might be this summer, even though we'll be halfway through the 2nd tri by the time our vacation starts.

PerraSucia · July 2016

@poetryandoceans thanks for visiting and dropping knowledge bombs!

poetryandoceans · July 2016

@PerraSucia I come to lurk your sassy threads

and saw this discussion happening... I'm probably a bit of a zika alarmist, but it scares the pants off of me.

cinderin · July 2016

first world problems?

varimama · July 2016

cinderin said:

first world problems?

Yea that's kind of what I was thinking. I mean I get being bummed you can't go on a vacation you were looking forward to and being out money sucks but in the end you're having a baby which imo is way better than any vacation not to mention there are women who have to live in these countries and it must be so scary worrying about any pregnancies there right now.

Ckayla · July 2016

Starfish113 said:

My friend didn't take out insurance but got a letter from her OB saying she was pregnant and was able to get a refund. Would that work?

I actually sent over a letter from my ob also but they still didn't issue me a full refund. I'm guessing its because we booked with AA Vacations. But if you book a flight with AA, you have to submit a letter in order to get a full refund of your airfare.

Ckayla · July 2016

I'm glad I was able to give some helpful information to anyone who may have to cancel a planned vacation.

Also, anyone who is traveling to Florida anytime soon should also check the CDC website because there is a home grown case out in Florida now. A nurse who was taking care of a zika virus patient, has now been infected. And she didn't get it from intercourse or a bite. So now they are trying to find out how she contracted it.

Just trying to keep up-to-date on this issue.

Starfish113 · July 2016

Uhhh wait... Are you saying in your rant other people can't commiserate or share their similar experience?!

mrszoess · July 2016

lurking from October but I'm sure it's contracted similar to other diseases and the nurse probably didn't use universal precautions when handling bodily fluids.

LoneStar21416 · July 2016

Ckayla said:

I'm glad I was able to give some helpful information to anyone who may have to cancel a planned vacation.
Also, anyone who is traveling to Florida anytime soon should also check the CDC website because there is a home grown case out in Florida now. A nurse who was taking care of a zika virus patient, has now been infected. And she didn't get it from intercourse or a bite. So now they are trying to find out how she contracted it.
Just trying to keep up-to-date on this issue.

lurking from January...I think you're confusing the most recent reported cases. There was a case out of Utah where a caretaker was infected with Zika after caring for a family member with the virus. It is unknown at this time how exactly the virus was transmitted. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/health/utah-zika-case.html

There are 2 separate cases in Florida right now in 2 different counties where local transmission (transmission from mosquito to human) is suspected. The reporting on this right now indicates that the infected persons did not travel, but sexual transmission has not been entirely ruled out yet. All of the reporting seems to indicate that it is more than likely local transmission, however. https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/health/broward-county-zika-investigation/

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