Drive or Fly???

[katmac36]

Hello everyone! I spoke with a surgeon at HEI last night and have pretty much decided to go there for my surgery. My husband and I sat down last night and went over all of the financial aspects of all of this. My 6-8 weeks off of work will be almost completely unpaid. We realized that the travel to and from CA will cost us about $1200 when all is said and done. That does not include hotel/Seton and food. We talked about possibly driving instead which would be a lot cheaper (even with gas prices this high). I was just going to get the opinions of people who have been through this. Will I be too miserable to ride home in a car??  If so, we will fly. I am just trying to make this as small of a burden financially as I can. Thanks!!

[HM1983]

Hi there!  I think it all really depends on the individual, and also the approach the dr is taking.....have you decided which way you're going to have it done?  I had my surgery about 2 weeks ago (translab), and I'm having a lot of trouble riding in the car.  I just get very nauseous......I find that closing my eyes helps.  If you take the pain and nausea meds they give you, they pretty much knock you out though....so that might help you tolerate the drive.  I really think it depends on the approach though, and whether or not they have to remove your vestibular nerve.....sorry, I'm probably not much help!

[JerseyGirl2]

Hi, Katmac,

I looked on your profile and saw that you're from Atlanta. I think the rule of thumb -- I remember reading this somewhere, but don't recall if it was on this forum -- is that flying home after surgery is preferable to a car ride of more than a few hours' duration.

Keeping in mind that everyone's recovery from surgery is different, I don't think even the super-fast recovery patients on this forum would have been keen to ride in a car from L.A. to Atlanta, and I also think it's safe to say that it's unlikely you would be able to help with the driving. You may or may not be feeling "miserable," to use your word, but at the very least you'll be extremely tired.

I had my surgery at House a little more than three years ago (I'll add that I think you're making a wonderful decision to go there!) and flew home very comfortably (10 days after surgery) from L.A. cross-country to Newark Liberty International Airport (New Jersey).

You might do better to economize elsewhere. Seton Hall is very reasonably priced -- not luxurious, but certainly adequate and reassuringly adjacent to both St. Vincent's (where you'll have your surgery) and House Clinic, so you could remain there for your entire stay (my husband and I did that). Except when we were out and about in Los Angeles and the surrounding area, both before and after my surgery, we ate just about all our meals at the hospital cafeteria -- which I thought was pretty good for institutional food (the post-surgery steroid regimen boosted my appetite, so that may have been a factor); it's reasonably priced, too, so that will save you some money. We found a rental car to be a necessity, but not everyone does, so you can economize that way, too.

Obviously my comments are one person's opinion, but I cannot imagine being in a car for that long a trip so soon after surgery, even with at least a couple of overnight stays along the way. You might want to pose this question to your Nurse Representative at House.

Best wishes with your surgery and recovery!

Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)

[ksiwek]

Hi there!

I am going to echo Catherine's thoughts on this...

Last year, Seton Hall was $65/night.  There are also mini fridges in the rooms and a common area for food prep that will help you minimize expenses.  I would definitely fly back and forth!  With the gas prices anyway, I am not sure driving from Atlanta would be any cheaper!  Everyone is different, but I know I would have been miserable in the car that long only 2 weeks after surgery.  I think that you would be doing yourself and your husband a favor by getting you home to your own bed quicker...less stress and more rest for you!

I was able to submit my hotel costs to my flex plan to get a tax break.  Also, housing costs, travel and meals are tax deductible for medical purposes (if they exceed a percentage of your AGI). 

As I lived in LA for 5 weeks last year while I had my baby and my AN surgery, please feel free to PM me any questions you may have about St V's, Seton, LA etc...

You won't regret your decision to go out there 

Best to you!

Kris

[katmac36]

Thanks everyone! I had pretty much decided to fly, anyway. That is a long drive and I had a feeling would not be a pleasant one.  Plus, today my dad offered to get our tickets with his Skymiles. That is a huge help! So, a little stress is off. I will have the translab surgery, probably in September. Now, I have to figure out the logistics here at home. I have 3 kids ages 5, 2, and 7 months. I thankfully have great family and friends that I know will take care of them. So much to think about!! Thanks!

[Desilu]

Hi Katmac,

Have to agree with everyone else, flying is the way to go. So glad your "Awesome" dad offered to get your tickets! I had surgery at House almost 6 years ago. Everything that was posted by others holds true. Seton is basic but all that you really need. You can eat in the cafeteria as suggested, prices are not bad or you can go to a grocery store while you are out there and stock up on groceries and store them in the Fridge in the community room and have your Hubby cook for you, if you would like. Have faith that things will work out with the kids, that's what family and friends are for! Sure they will help if you ask. I wish you the best and hope to hear about your successful surgery sometime in September. Ann

[CHD63]

Hi Katmac .....

So glad you have decided to and arranged to fly to LA and back.  I just had translab surgery six weeks ago at HEI.  Even though I had a very easy recovery with no major issues, I would have been quite miserable to have tried to drive back across the country.

I will echo what the other HEI alums have said.  Seton Hall is clean, quiet, comfortable, and still $65 a day.  We did not rent a car.  However, my husband's brother and wife drove down from Northern California to be with us the first six days we were out there so we had a chance to sightsee a bit before surgery and stock up on grocery items we knew we could use up.  We were out there a total of 16 days.  We ate most of our breakfasts at Seton Hall in the breakfast room and ate most of the rest at the hospital cafeteria (a good exercising walk post-op).  Days 6-7 post op we drove to Newport Coast with another couple (he had had surgery the same day I did so his wife drove) for an overnight outing, which was fun and slow-paced.  Tolerated that OK, but a long drive would have been quite different.

As the others have said, everyone is individual so you really need to have Plans A, B, C, and maybe even D in your mind depending upon how well you do during surgery and recovery.

As Kris said, a good bit of your expenses will be deductible on your income tax, come tax time ..... so that will help to take some of the financial burden off.  How much of a deduction depends upon your income level but I would most definitely check with your CPA/accountant.

Wishing you the best possible surgery and recovery.  Many prayers.

Feel free to ask me any specific questions (you can PM if you wish) since I was so recently there.

Clarice

[Rivergirl]

Good decision to fly......I can't even imagine driving that distance even at this stage in my recovery, almost 4 weeks post op.  Driving and hour and half from Boston home was hard after surgery.  Good luck, glad you are flying.