Cars, Trains & Subway Lines: The Oddessy of Getting from Del Mar to Kaiser LA (Hollywood) and then back home Diary of a Mad, Mad Day Work at my usual 5am and meditated for an hour. Got up did 1/2 hour of ServiceNow work then made coffee, showered, got Rich up, walked the dog and finished a load of laundry. Packed my mobility scooter in the car and left Del Mar at 7:05 am drove through the Villa de la Valle McDonalds for a coffee and egg mcmuffins then headed out to the Solana Beach Amtrak station to catch our 7:40am train to Union Station. Due into LA by 10:30 we had no fear we would be in time for our 11:30 neurosurgeon appointment...man plans and God laughs. Train was on time but it was the old train; no handicap ramp so staff went scrambling to find and prepare a hand cranked handicap lift to get me up and into Business Class. Wow. Staff was awesome and helpful. Offered us coffee and gave us a newspaper. They have wifi so I used my phone and ipad. I did not bring any chargers because we were going to be home no later than 2pm - easy peasy! *not* At the Irvine station we were told there was a disabled Southbound train up ahead and the area is single tracked so all train traffic in all directions was suspended. Ok, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes. Phoned Dr. Pikuls office - we are going to be late because the testing has stopped. Told to call back in 30 minutes. 1 and 1/2 hours in at Irvine and huzzah we are moving. Call to doc; we think we will be 15 minutes late. s-l-o-w-l-y very very slowly we creep forward. Stop by stop it is apparent we are going to be really, really late. Call back to Dr. Pikul. He has the afternoon off but will wait for us ( superstar)!! Arrive at Union Station awesome porter with a ride to Metro Red line (could even take my scooter!). Rich tipped the man and off we went to experience the many delights of the LA subway... We arrive at the Vermont and Sunset station, surface and blink. Where are we again? Which way do we need to go? Wait, it says Kaiser Hospital up there; that is across the street from 1505 Edgemont which is where the doctor is. Rich you wait and I will scooter up there to see if this is right...zoom zoom up...zoom zoom down. Not right. Oh look, Kaiser hospital is that way too... Diane scoot ahead and check me in. *beep beep* setting is on bunny rabbit now! Up to the 5th floor Neurology. Story, train delay, metro lost, apologies. Yes our appointment was 11:30. Yes I know it is after 1:00pm. Yes Dr Pikul knows we are coming. Wait, I am supposed to be on the 4th floor? Sorry; bye! Wait, what? Oh, sure, thank you. Since I already waited in line it would be awesome to check in here then go down to 4, thanks! Checked him in, back down to 4. Around the corner I hear, no I cant be checked in, I just got here! *ding* Hi, Im his wife; I went to 5 by mistake and I checked him in up there. Laugh laugh please have a seat. Not too long down around the corner: Mr. Cunningham? Mr. Richard Cunningham?? HERE, coming. Scoot scoot trot trot. Welcome Mr. Cunningham have you been checked in and vitals taken? Blank looks. Has someone taken your blood pressure yet? Laugh. No, and we dont want it, it is going to be high, really high. Brief recap of day so far. Sorry we have to take vitals. Lets go back through the waiting room. Groan. Great nurse, took temp, ran current medications and did not make him do a blood pressure reading. Straight to waiting room. Phone checks; I have 20% battery remaining Rich has 37% Dr Pikul comes in we apologize profusely for killing his afternoon off; he is incredibly gracious. Confirms Rich is cancer free and treatment going forward is an MRI every 3 months. Rich has a pro/good bad list if things that have changed since the surgery. Since we are so late Rich says that there are a lot of good things but lets start with the bad - headaches. Discussion back and forth; not unheard of. Doc will talk to San Diego Neurological Oncologist who is managing Richs neurological care recommending Rich be referred to the Headache Clinic. Vision and eye problems are next in the last so there is a referral to an eye doctor. I bring up the issue of Rich only having 1 hour of energy a day but no one else is concerned so he highlight the good things, get referred for an immediate MRI in San Diego and we go to check out. Dr Pikul walks us out and asks us to wait as the various referrals are processed. It is now 2:30 and I am thirst, tired, hungry and my back is spasming. I mention to Rich that I am hungry. We think there is a 3pm train back to Solana Beach so we decide to trot and scooter back to the Metro (subway) and head for Union Station. Trains are packed!! We arrive and cannot find a handicap shuttle so Rich tells me to go find the Amtrak train to Solana Beach. I go bombing down long corridors and my scooter runs out of power. Well fooey! I actually did bring a brand new, never tried compact scooter charger. I died at the bottom of a ramp that said Oceanside 3:10. Rich catches up and asks why I stopped. I tell him the scooter died. We flag down a Union Station worker who says next Amtrak train doesnt leave until 4:20 and we should go back to the waiting area. She heads off and Rich says he doesnt think my scooter will make it all the way back. I ask if we should just try and get on the Metrolink to Oceanside that is right up ramp 8 where we are standing. He is game so pushes my scooter up the ramp. Security guard at the top of the ramp asks for our tickets. I launch into my now well practiced story of 7:30 train, stuck for an hour and a half in Irvine, missed appointment but seen anyway. Return Amtrak tickets for 12:30 train that we missed, need to get to Solana Beach where our car is parked etc. He asks to see the Amtrak tickets then says go to the very last car and the Conductor will get us on. So, Rich pushes my scooter to the last car, boards and sits down and I wait for the Conductor and a handicap ramp. Both come, we board, there is a power outlet and I charge my scooter *huzzah* Metro is slow, stops a lot and my iphone is completely our of power and there is no wifi for my ipad but by 5:45 we are in Oceanside!! Over the river and through the woods, ramps, elevators and inclines we cross to platform 1. I go into the ticket office, re tell the whole story of the 7:30am train, stuck in Irvine, missed appointment, seen later, subway, graciously comped onto Metrolink to Oceanside and is there a way to get back to Solana Beach where our car is? Of course!! 5:56 Amtrak will take us there; just show them the ticket and no need to tell the story. LOL OK, we sit and wait...train is late; i scooter over to a coffee truck delirious with hunger. Closed up tight. *sigh*. Scooter back to where Rich is sitting and train is there by 6:10. Same train we had at 7:30, surprise. No handicap ramp so staff scurry off to find one, hand crank it down, load me on then hand crank it up. Same porter in Business Class we had this morning, nice!! Better still he gives us snacks and drinks!!!! We arrive at Solana Beach, repeat the hand crank ramp deal for egress, take the elevator up to the parking lot, load the scooter up and head for home. We arrive at 7:05pm I plug in my iphone and sigh with relief. Rich orders a pizza, we watch an episode if Masterpiece Mystery then I toddle off to bed. Story buzzing in my brain I unplug my trusty iphone and write this missive. Enjoy, we did!!
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 05:08:50 +0000
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