SPOTLIGHT

We Irish are well known for being a nation of travelers and emigrants. With around 70 million people around the world who are Irish-born or of Irish descent, leaving Ireland has been a necessity for many at times but has become a choice or a right of passage for others. With few boundaries in place, we are welcomed into other cultures and countries to learn, to experience or to settle down.

Aquick google search throws up inspiring travel quotes such as, "Work, Travel, Save, Repeat..." but making the move out of Ireland is not as seamless as this for everybody. Many in the CF Community, face additional boundaries when making the choice to emigrate. Looking back at previous Spectrum travel diarys, highlights the organisation and meticulous planning that is required when embarking on a short holiday or trip as a person with CF, so in this edition, we speak to PWCF living in Ireland who have faced challenges in following their dreams to emigrate and what it takes to move from the Irish healthcare system to another.

Cruising on the Costa Blanca

Buenos dias, hello my name is Declan Houlihan, PWCF approaching forty one years of age. Readers in the past may have read some of my previous articles for Spectrum and it's a pleasure to be asked to share my experiences once again, this time about my relocation and subsequent life living on the Costa Blanca here in Spain for almost six years now.

If you haven't read before let me give a brief background of my story so far. A travel fanatic from an early age with a deep fascination for the world around me. At the late age of seventeen I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis after many years of misdiagnosis, stomach pains and an annoying cough!

I was very fortunate to achieve my dream of travelling around the world and living in Australia back when I was 25 years of age, taking advantage of the one year working holiday visa and multiple round the world stops en route. Due to the difficulties obtaining a permanent visa for Australia, mainly due to having cystic fibrosis, I returned back to Ireland but didn't shake off the travel bug. In the following years I was fortunate to travel most of Europe, when possible, with my now wife, and then we made the decision back in 2014 to travel the world again for a longer period. After working hard for many years in the health service and saving some money, it was time to pack my bags and visit north, central and south America, followed