Traveling the World After Beating Cancer /Crazy A&& Pandemic
My Travel Story
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my "why" and for considering assisting me in living out my dreams.
As long as I can remember I've wanted to travel as far and wide as I can, see as much of the world as possible, and learn about other cultures. I've had dreams of living a year in Italy, a year in Greece... and so on. (Prior to learning about visas, that is.) But I hadn't yet figured out how to make it work.
Then in the summer of 2020, I was first diagnosed with lung cancer (and no, I've never been a smoker). And after my first surgery, I was upgraded to stage 4.
Everything stopped.
The question of how much time do I have left on this earth? And what do I want to do with it is constantly ringing through my head.
And all I can think about is all the many places I'd always wanted to go, see, touch, smell, experience... but never had the time or money to do it.
At this point, however, it's August 2020. A) most countries and airlines have shut down international travel. B) if I caught covid on top of lung cancer I'd just be accelerating my demise.
So I stayed home and followed my doctor's orders. And thank God I did!
Just under two weeks after being declared stage 4, the surgeon called and basically said a mistake had been made. Upon further testing, the area they thought had been spreading cancer was not actually cancerous. I was downgraded to stage 3 again. My pulmonologist actually compared this to winning the lottery! :) An actual miracle.
Another surgery and 4 rounds of chemo later... by February 2021 I'm announced free and clear! Yes!!!
By late March 2021, I'm back at work serving and waiting tables in a bistro wine bar in Southern California. With many debts accrued, I also started DoorDashing, and Walmart delivery, and placing ads on my car... Why do I include this? I want to make clear I am not someone who simply asks for handouts. I work, and do everything I can possibly think of, which right now includes asking for assistance.
So where am I now? I writing this in England. My search to figure out how I could travel the world now (rather than wasting more time), led me to international house/pet sitting combined with an Etsy print-on-demand shop.
I feel so blessed and so thrilled to have made it this far - in so many ways! I literally love just walking down the street, lane, footpath, countryside... wherever I'm house-sitting. It's all beautiful, it really is!
As happy as I am, I can no longer ignore that my debts are piling up again. My Etsy shop is growing (and getting great reviews, thankfully), but becoming profitable is... coming. I hope. And travel between house sits (by train and bus) has definitely been more than I expected.
I lept before I looked. I'll not lie about that. But I'm also not sorry. If I waited for everything to line up just right I might have waited (wasted) 5-10 more years. And as my doctors continue to screen me twice a year for cancer... it just wasn't an option.
If you are interested in supporting me in living my dreams and traveling the world... I can't thank you enough! I can only tell you that every gift is appreciated beyond belief.
I'm adding a link to my Etsy shop. A) I'm proud of it. It's been a lot of work, and a lot of learning new things to get it this far. But B) I also add it to lend credibility to my story above. I know anyone can put anything out here on the web. My story is real. This is my life, and how I'm choosing to live it.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my why.
Michelle
More Travel Information
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Campaign Ended
$ 0 USD
Total Donation Received-
0%
Funded -
$ 22,071 USD
Goal Amount -
0
Days Left
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Cost Calculator
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Airfare/ International Flights
$ 3,500
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Accommodation
$ 5,000
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Immunization/ Vaccine
$ 700
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Local Travel Expenses
$ 3,500
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Medical/ Travel/ Accident Insurance
$ 2,820
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Program Fee
$ 500
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Special Courses/ Language Programs
$ 1,000
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2 Pet Scans a year
$ 4,000
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FundMyTravel Site Fee
$ 1,051
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