Moving back home from abroad

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Shabbycat wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I agree, I think they need to come over and see what happens. I fully appreciate that there will be differing views about this and can understand why. My Dad has been in ill health since his forties and was one of the factors in moving abroad in the first place. His wife's family are in a position to fund her care when they run out of money so is less of an issue. Unfortunately my contribution won't be sufficient to fully meet the gap between his pension and the cost. Unfortunately due to his ill health, L.A. funding may not even come into play.
US has not been ruled out yet, we are still exploring options but feel having family near them in the last couple of years would be good for them.

Would it be wise for an elderly man with emphysema/COPD to even attempt a 9-10 hour flight in the first place? A pressurised cabin isn't exactly the best place for breathing easily (ex FIL was in that situation at 62 and nearly died on a 4 hour flight - no idea whether that was the result of his disease already progressing or whether it caused a major exacerbation, but he was in hospital again within three months and dropped dead two months later from heart failure). If either of them became ill shortly after departure, the resultant flight diversion and/or admission into hospital could be extremely expensive - or, if the worst should happen, the spouse has to continue their journey in the most awful circumstances. You don't say what medical issues his wife has, but they could equally make it unsafe to fly long haul.

Don't forget that we also have cold, damp miserable weather for all but about 3 weeks in the year, whereas Florida has warmth and sunshine (along with storms and the occasional hurricane, admittedly)