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Is there a reasonable way to travel to a doctor?

Messages
82
If my family can't take me and finances are limited, is there a reasonable way to get to medical treatment/diagnosis in a distant location? (USA)

I don't drive, and I need to keep my legs elevated and support my back, shoulders, neck, and head. Preferably I also need to lie down some of the day.
 

Wolfcub

Senior Member
Messages
7,089
Location
SW UK
I suppose it would depend how far away....if you knew a friend who didn't mind, or might even like, taking the road trip, and who had a vehicle with back seats that go down, which would fit a small mattress in the back, so you could lie down on the journey? I had a small car once, but could easily fit to sleep in the back once the seats were down.
You could pay them for all the fuel, meals, etc?
But of course you might not know someone who can do it.
 

valentinelynx

Senior Member
Messages
1,310
Location
Tucson
I don't know how practical it is, but there are still a few train routes in the US (unlike Europe, where you can go almost anywhere by rail!), and if you have $, there are sleeper cars. The trains tend to stop at inconvenient times (like the middle of the night), and run infrequently (e.g. the Sunset Limited form New Orleans to Los Angeles runs 3 times per week, but they're thinking of making it daily and dropping Tucson :(). Check it out at the Amtrak website.
 
Messages
82
Trains sound like a really accessible way to travel! The price for sleeper cars is a bit off-putting however. I am trying to compare that expense to other ways, though. I would need more overnights to rest if I flew, for instance. (If I even could, not sure about that part.)

Also they tend to transfer to a bus, which doesn't have a luggage compartment. What is one meant to do with luggage, or with a wheelchair?

I do hope they expand train travel. I was reading an article a while back that the US doesn't have good train service compared with UK for example.

Still thinking.

Thanks for the ideas. :) :trophy:
 

Moof

Senior Member
Messages
778
Location
UK
Do they not have passenger assistance schemes in the US? Most major transport providers in the UK have them, though in practice they can be hit and miss – I've had a lot of excellent experiences and a few not-so-good (but not disastrous) ones.

Airlines tend to be the most problematic, but that's largely because wheelchairs have to be carried in the hold, and can come out damaged due to being mishandled.

Railway schemes are generally pretty good nowadays. The type of assistance provided varies according to the needs of the passenger – for instance, if you use a wheelchair, they'll ramp you onto the train (and demand the removal of all the luggage dumped in the wheelchair space by selfish idiots!). If you don't have a wheelchair but struggle to walk across the concourse, they'll take you to your platform on an electric buggy and help you find a seat.

You can book assistance for your whole journey, so they get you onto the train at the beginning, and then meet you when you disembark to change to another line to help you onto the second train. At the end of the journey, they can help you get to the taxi rank or bus interchange.

It's well worth researching what help is available, and people's experiences of it on the various carriers.

ETA: in the UK, there's also the Sunflower Lanyard scheme, which advises transport companies, supermarkets, etc that the person wearing it has a hidden disability and might need extra help. The disability could be anything from bowel problems to autism to heart disease, so it's not specific – but staff know they should give you priority, and possibly offer you things that aren't generally available (such as using the staff toilet if you have IBD).
 
Messages
82
Not really, except by air. If traveling by air, you can ask to have wheelchair transport through the airport (although it may be electric cart, and may require several transfers) and even onto the plane. After boarding, you're on your own until you arrive at the next airport.

In other ways of traveling, you're supposed to travel with a companion if you need assistance. They will have a ramp (not on all the vehicles necessarily, however, as I understand it), which they will deploy, but if you need any help getting around they can't help you as they have other things to do.

They'll offer a discount for a companion (say 10%). They have discounts for other categories (veteran, elderly), but not disability (Medicare doesn't count for elderly: I check).
 

Zebra

Senior Member
Messages
853
Location
Northern California
Hi, @Foxglove,

I'm afraid I don't have any advice for you, but I want to thank you for starting this thread.

I have exhausted the local medical expertise and I have been thinking about traveling for medical care, but I find the prospect of navigating an airport, let alone a plane ride, absolutely daunting. Even with a companion. It's just too much.

Thanks to @valentinelynx post about Amtrak, I will look into traveling by train, but I am so sensitive to sounds and vibrations I'm not sure that's an option for me.

If/when I get serious about this, I am going to do some research on charity funded private medical transport for those who are seriously ill. There's gotta be some wealthy folks out there who can spare their private jets for a day.

If/when I get to this research, I will reach out to you and share my findings.

Best of luck to you!
 
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82
all the best to you also, @Zebra

I know that charity funded medical tranpsport is a thing, but I don't know anything about how that's done (except through a charity or hospital if one has a big-name disease). Good for you for looking into this, possibly if you can.

About the sounds, I was planning on getting some noise-canceling earbuds. I doubt this would help with the vibrations, but it would be something. I need some anyway because there will be construction near my place soon.
 

Moof

Senior Member
Messages
778
Location
UK
In other ways of traveling, you're supposed to travel with a companion if you need assistance.

Gosh, we've found something in which the UK isn't behind everyone else in terms of equal access! I thought we had it bad here, but that sort of attitude – that it's your disability that's the problem, not the inaccessible infrastructure – ought to be consigned to the 1950s, where it belongs. :grumpy:
 

valentinelynx

Senior Member
Messages
1,310
Location
Tucson
Also they tend to transfer to a bus, which doesn't have a luggage compartment. What is one meant to do with luggage, or with a wheelchair? .

Are you sure the buses don't have luggage compartments? To my knowledge and minimal experience, most buses/coaches used for long distance transport or shuttle service from airports do have luggage compartments. It's the within city buses (the ones that stop every few blocks) that don't.

I do hope they expand train travel. I was reading an article a while back that the US doesn't have good train service compared with UK for example.

The US has terrible train service. Amtrak, the only provider of interstate and cross-continent service) is huge money loser, and few people use the trains (because there are so few routes at so few times), and it's constantly at risk of being shut down. When I think about trains in Europe, and the fact that to get from Tucson, AZ, where I live to Phoenix, the bigger city, a common trip, you pretty much have to drive the 120 miles (193 km), it makes me want to gnash my teeth at the waste and stupidity. It would be so much more civilized to hop on a train and relax and read or nap during the trip (which could be 30 minutes on a high speed train), than to risk your life on the freeway at 80 mph (128 kph) next to the big rig trucks, also going 80 mph, typically one person per vehicle. The politics around the idea of high speed rail in the US is outrageous. The idea of a high speed rail line connecting the cities of Northern and Southern California (about 400 miles, ~645 km) has been bandied about for decades, partly funded, started, hit snags, defunded, blah blah...). Americans love their cars!
 
Messages
2,565
Location
US
Yes, there are charity medical flights. Google that or similar.

Some of the programs just get you a "free" ticket (you pay an administration fee) while others get you on a small planes with some private pilot. In your case, with needing foot elevation and other things, a small plane might work better for you.

Some of the charities would probably help you get bus/train tickets if you said that you couldn't fly.
 
Messages
70
Are you sure the buses don't have luggage compartments? To my knowledge and minimal experience, most buses/coaches used for long distance transport or shuttle service from airports do have luggage compartments. It's the within city buses (the ones that stop every few blocks) that don't.

Amtrak Coach buses have luggage compartments. I can't speak to how they handle wheelchairs but when I was healthy I moved cross country via Amtrak and one leg of the journey was on a bus. They handled my five large cardboard boxes and bicycle in box without an issue. Wheelchairs are more fragile and will take special treatment but it's worth checking. It seems like they'd have to address the issue.

Most (all?) Amtrak stations in the US don't have level boarding so you have to step up to get on the train. I'm not sure how they accommodate wheelchairs.