Machka 

Dealing with Medical Situations ... after the emergency has passed.


A couple years ago I started the thread 'Dealing with Emergency Situations', which got some good responses.

https://www.bikeforums.net/living-ca...ituations.html


Now I'll ask the question, how do you deal with medical situations? Situations where you can't ride your bicycle or walk ... and can't drive.

What services do you have in your area to help you?

Obviously if it is really bad, you'll call an ambulance. But suppose you need to get to important medical appointments or carry on every-day life while not being able to get out and about.

Jim from Boston

So too, Boston is a medical mecca, and major teaching hospitals are within about two miles, and we have a car parked nearby. For a personal crisis, one is always advised, don't drive yourself. Ambulances, taxis, and Uber are always available, and subway lines bring you to a short walk of a Hospital or doctor's office, at least where we live.

When my wife was starting labor, she even insisted on walking to the Hospital. .

Machka 

What about when you can't walk? Or cycle or drive?

How do you go about your daily life? How do you get to your follow up medical appointments?

Like let's say you broke a hip or leg or badly burned a foot or something.

What resources does your area provide for those sorts of circumstances?

Jim from Boston

Stretchers probably, though when I was transported from the local hospital, to a major medical center after my cycling accident it was on a stretcher, by helicopter.

Mobile 155

linberl

So my car was sold Thursday (yay, car free) but I was just thinking about what to do if I needed to get my dog to the emergency vet. I can call an ambulance for myself, and there is an pet ambulance in S.F but I live in the East Bay and they don't offer service there. What to do if I need to get to the vet asap? Can't imagine Uber or a taxi letting me put an injured dog in their cars. This is kinda freaking me out now...not completely off topic as it IS a medical emergency.

Rowan

The interesting thing is that Machka has sustained all the stuff she listed. Even now, I can relate to some of the stuff that has been chosen to discuss.

The interesting for us has not just been our health affairs, but a neighbor of ours has a young girl is disabled. It has been interesting during my stays at home to see what has happened with handling her mobility issues. Living car-free is great on principle, until something occurs that prevents it being a fatal option.

Even when we have been present in quite car-free areas of cities in Europe, there are several occurrences I can recall where it has to be overlooked to access emergency services in particular.

daoswald

I imagine Uber XL would be fine with a kennel crate. It's not much different from luggage. I think if a pet emergency were to come up, having one of those would be a good idea.

Or a toddler trailer for bikes. The ones built for two kids ought to be able to hold one big dog. I have a Burley and I'm sure it would have accommodated my late Golden Retriever..

CliffordK

So far, I haven't had that situation.

I still have my car, so with a bit of a hassle, I could update the state registration, and get new insurance (both of which are lapsed).

I did get pretty sick about 2 years ago, and Mom insisted on taking me to a doctor's office, then took me to her place, and didn't really let me leave until I was able to ride away.

I've slipped/fallen on the bike a couple of times, and just rode through the injuries. Perhaps taking a couple of days off from riding, but have had a few sore rides.

We have a local ambulance insurance policy:
FireMed Oregon
https://eugspfd.firemed.org/

I'm not sure if they let you use the helicopter service as a local taxi service.

TAXI?
Neighbors?
Local Church?

linberl

I'm thinking more like a real emergency, like if my pet got hit by a car and was bleeding, etc. Can't imagine hooking up a trailer (I have one) or getting an Uber. Not sure what I would do.

Machka 

You're going to use a stretcher to go to work, do your shopping, and take care of errands?

Machka 

A few months after I went car free in Winnipeg, one of my cats was diagnosed with Diabetes and needed several vet appointments in a row to get things regulated.

Fortunately there was a pet taxi service available!!

Machka 

One of the reasons I ask this question is because I've been tentatively diagnosed with a fractured hip. I've been told not to walk, and if I have to, I should use crutches.

In order to confirm this diagnosis, I need to go for an MRI. I've been for MRIs up there recently, so my first thought was that I would just walk the 3.4 km round trip.

But wait. I'm not supposed to walk and I don't like crutches. I'm a klutz with them. Plus even if I were adept at using, it would be a challenge to get to this location.

So I figured I'd take the bus. Only the bus covers about 2 km of the 3.4 km, leaving me to deal with 1.4 km.

I guess it will be a taxi. But that can get expensive.




So it got me to thinking about the services available when we can't get around.

When I lived in Winnipeg and burned my foot to the bone, I tried to take a bus the first day. That was awful. Couldn't do it. So I started taking taxis, using the pet taxi service, and having my groceries delivered.

Here, we're already getting our groceries delivered which is good. I can take the bus into work for now, but if I am officially diagnosed with a hip fracture, I might not be able to do that. And there are taxis.


Do any of you have a service that takes incapacitated people to medical appointments?

daoswald

Avail yourself of the kindness of a car-embracing friend or stranger, I guess. If you absolutely have to get somewhere quickly with a pet that is in really bad shape the best option is probably a vehicle.

One suggestion: certainly one of the nearby 24-hour pet emergency vets has dealt with a situation where the owner didn't have access to a vehicle. Call around to each of the closest and ask them what they have to offer for such situations. It might turn out they either have a standard operating procedure or could make up a standing plan of action in advance for this type of situation. It could be a conversation that serves to advance the awareness and services available to an entire community which could be a big win.

linberl

Great suggestion, I will do that...now, when it's not an emergency. Hopefully there will be some solution. I know my neighbors would take me if they are home, but that's not always the case.
I'm not worried about getting myself someplace - if you throw enough $ at this problem there is a solution (whether ambulance, private medical transport, Uber/Lyft/taxi). Some medical plans now are even offering transport to appts. as part of the benefits.

Happy Feet

We have just the thing, it's called Handidart. It is an extension of the bus service that caters to people with disabilities. To qualify I think you need a doctors note and then you buy quite cheap tickets (like bus fare). It's not spur of the moment like a taxi but a lot cheaper. You call ahead of time to book a pickup (at your home or facility) and there is a window of time because they are driving lots of people so you sometimes have to be ready and wait for a while but they do take you from A to B like your MRI appointments. We have a resident who attends a day program who gets picked up and dropped off weekdays.

https://www.bctransit.com/central-fr...info/handydart

avole

The short answer is to live in a town or city where these services exist, or have services that do not charge the earth for home visits. I have to admire the NHS and the ambulance services in the UK, by the way. I appreciate distances and facilities vary, but it seems to me they're better than in many places where I have lived.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by Machka

What about when you can't walk? Or cycle or drive?

How do you go about your daily life? How do you get to your follow up medical appointments?

Like let's say you broke a hip or leg or badly burned a foot or something.

What resources does your area provide for those sorts of circumstances?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

Stretchers probably, though when I was transported from the local hospital, to a major medical center after my cycling accident it was on a stretcher, by helicopter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Machka

You're going to use a stretcher to go to work, do your shopping, and take care of errands?

Stretcher would be for emergencies. Otherwise as I described: For a further comprehensive list, I could get the servants to bear me on a sedan chair or a rickshaw...Now that's car-free...

Machka 

I'm looking for something similar here.

I can take the bus to work, the walking part of that isn't too far yet ... although it may become too far if the diagnosis results in a "NO walking" order.

Plus I've discovered that there appears to be 3 community transport options for getting to appointments and other things. However, the first criteria is that a person would have to be 65 years old ... or disabled.

OK, I might qualify under the "or disabled" but I think I would need to be able to prove it, and a bad limp isn't enough. It would have to be a medical certificate.

linberl

In the Bay area, even if you have a temporary disability, a medical cert will get you all kinds of options for transit. But without certification, it's all private pay. There are numerous Medical Transport Non-emergency companies that charge anywhere from $30-200 to get someone to a dr. appointment (rate depending on how ambulatory you are). Or it's taxis/uber if you can't walk at all. Can you talk to your doctor about getting a temporary medical certification? Does that give you more options where you live? The other thing we have here is an local online community and it's pretty easy to find a (somewhat close) neighbor to pay for rides you arrange in advance; often just gas and a free lunch will do it.

JoeyBike

Answer to all of the above: I have an emergency fund to purchase a car. Hopefully friends and relatives can help out if I can't drive. There are door-to-door public transit options in my city as well for just this reason. This is a real concern for anyone who depends on their two feet. Hell, I can't even get into my house in a wheelchair.

jon c. 

wipekitty

Yes! We have a privately run medical transport service that runs in town and the surrounding areas. It's $3 per one way trip, and it's a big van (kind of like the ones they use for airport shuttles).

For about a year and a half, my SO and I (well, really my SO!) took care of a legally blind man with diabetes who required dialysis 3x per week and had several minor surgeries and other follow-up appointments. The drivers were all really nice, and would even help him in and out of the van when it was icy.

Rob_E

I guess it depends on the extent/duration of the injury. I can bus myself to within a block of my doctor's office, but I still have to get down the driveway to the bus stop and from the bus stop to the doctor. Generally my criteria has been: If I'm not well enough to ride my bike, I'm not well enough to go to work, but that wouldn't be practical for a long period of time. I have injured my leg in such a way that it hurt to walk on it, but felt fine to ride. The trick was figuring out how to carry a cane on my bike.

I imagine there are services to help, too. Largely depends on the extent to which you are not mobile.

But it's hard for me to say, "This is the point where you get a car." 1) It really depends on how long you expect to be off your feet. 2) It's not a practical solution for everyone. Some of the people I see riding the bus who have mobility issues appear to be at or near an age when they probably shouldn't be driving. Some have vision issues, too, where they can't legally drive. So I'm assuming there are services that help those people get around.

linberl

If you can sit on a bike but can't pedal, you can always get a hub motor and make it electric =)