Dealing with Transportation Issues
One of the things I have found hard to deal with while living with myasthenia gravis is transportation. There are times when I am unable to drive myself and family members are not able to take me when and where I need to be.
I am sure I'm not alone on this issue. I live 30 miles from any doctor's office, hospital, or grocery store. Now, I realize I live in the country. But I'm sure there are others who live in cities that have to travel the same distances to get to any of these places.
It can be more challenging to get transportation than most people realize! Whether that be by taxi, bus, train, or even having a friend or family member take you.
My travel options
When I travel to see my neurologist, I have to call their office at least 24 hours in advance to schedule a ride. That is if they even have someone available at that time to pick me up. Then I have to call when I'm ready to be taken back home after the appointment, waiting after I call until they have someone available to pick me up.
To go 30 miles west into town, the round trip costs me the same as if I was going to the other side of the county (another 30 minutes away). If I were to travel east, to my doctor's other location, it would cost even more because we would cross the county line.
Due to these costs, I either drive myself or my daughter will take me. There are taxi services in both towns, but the cost is too prohibitive to call them.
Interesting connections
When I do schedule a ride, I never know who the driver is going to be. And I've never had the same driver twice. There was another driver whose father had myasthenia gravis. She understood it completely.
I had one driver who had been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis years ago. He had a thymoma had it removed and had never had any other symptoms after surgery.
I believe he got pretty shaken up when I said I had myasthenia gravis as he told me that he had always lived in that town and had been driving for this company for many years. But yet he got lost trying to get me to my appointment behind the hospital.
An oppportunity to share
I had another driver who was going to school to be an EMT and his fiancé was going to school to be a nurse. The funny thing was his fiancé grew up next to my parents' house and called my parents grandma and grandpa.
The driver had never heard about myasthenia gravis and was very happy to get some information. I had the opportunity to share more about myasthenia gravis while going to my appointment, and he was going to pass along the information to other EMT students.
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