House - out of town patients

[ncbj]

Hi,

I am scheduled to have Mid Fossa at august 8 at House. I am quite convinced that this is a good decision .. actually the best decision in my situation )

I am coming from Europe - thus, it is a really looooong way from home.

We have decided to fly on business class - to make it comfortable .... especially for the return flight.

My wife is coming along. We arrive the weekend before to have a 2-day vacation. We are considering to stay at Seton Hall while I am at St. Vincent (I guess app. 5-6 days) and then move to a nearby hotel the next week. I expect to be "released" from LA after 12 days. Is it a good idea to stay at a hotel afterwards ? The idea should be to see something else ... and maybe only for the benefit of my wife. Am I supposed to visit St. Vincent/House during the second week ... under normal circumstances ?

I really would like some do's and don'ts in such a situation. I only intent to do this once, so I would like to profit from your experience.

To anyone who has been through the journey: what would you recommend to do, and not to do ?

Niels

[CHD63]

Hi Niels .....

So glad you are flying to House for your surgery in August.

My surgery at House was just one year ago (May 11, 2011) and I flew across the entire United States so it was a loooooong flight, as well.  My husband and I also flew out to LA early, but 4 days before for a family reunion/vacation.  We stayed at Seton Hall the entire time ..... with the exception of one overnight stay 6 days post-op in a lovely villa at Newport Beach, CA.  Because I was released from St. Vincent's on a Sunday (surgery the Wednesday before), I had to pick up my meds at the Clinic Pharmacy on Monday.  Other than that, the only time I went to the Clinic post-op was on Day 8 for stitch removal  by Dr. Friedman and an appointment with Dr. Stefan (the internist) to check my general health and answer any questions.  All was well so no further visits needed.

Regarding staying at Seton Hall:  it is a very basic facility but clean, comfortable and quiet (and inexpensive) ..... plus you have much support from other patients and their families going through the same thing.  (We met some lovely people!)  Staying at a nice hotel for a few days at the end of your stay should not be a problem, unless you are going a considerable distance away from the area.  If you are renting a car, it should not be a problem at all.  If not, you will want to be close enough to get back to the hospital quickly for any unexpected emergency.

Good idea to fly business class ..... especially the return trip.  You will need to get up and walk every hour to an hour and a half and exercise your legs inbetween.  The extra leg room is not a luxury at that point.

Best thoughts.

Clarice

[lrobie]

Hi Niels,

I will be there for my surgery on July 18th.  We are not staying at Seton Guest Center at all.  Instead, we will be staying at the Residence Inn Burbank Downtown.  This is so my husband and son have something to do while I'm at the hospital and/or resting in the hotel room and for me to have something a little more pleasant to look at if or when I decide to take a stroll outside of the hotel.  According to Mapquest, the hotel is 10 miles to St. Vincents/13 minutes.  I expect traffic so we are going to allow 30-60 minutes.

According to the hotel website, there are a lot of restaurants, shoppes and things to do nearby.  There are a couple of spas nearby which I may visit the afternoon prior to surgery.

Some of my forum and Facebook friends haven't agreed with my idea not to stay at Seton.  I guess I'll be the guinea pig and let everyone know about my experience.  I'm always up for a challenge!!

Lisa

[schmidtkat]

Hello Niels,

First of all, I am sorry to read of your AN diagnosis. Next I would like to commend you for finding this forum and believe you will get great advice here to help you with this healing journey.

Last Aug/Sept. I flew from Iowa to LA for my surgery. I can only speak highly of my experience. The doctors, nurses, physical therapists, aids, etc... were all top notch. As you will read on here many others would say the same for the HEI and other providers. So I can only share from my experience.

The flight to LA was pleasantly uneventful. I had apprehension of how my ear would react to cabin pressure changes. To my amazement it actually popped and I could hear better for brief periods of time.

My family and I stayed at Seton Hall. It was conveniently located, adequately equipped and safe. Although I would not recommend venturing into the neighborhood at night. The cost was also reasonable and going to the St. Vincent caferia was another convenience. It was very reasonably priced too.

We did use a limo to return to the airport and tried to avoid the busy traffic hours. This was well worth the few extra dollars than a taxi. I did request a wheel chair to get through the airport and also appreciated that convenience as I was not up to walking through crowds of people.

A few tips shared with me prior to departure...if you wear glasses, take an old pair as you may want to remove the bow on the surgical side to avoid rubbing; take tops and pjs that you do not need to pull over your head; if you plan to do some siteseeing you may want some sort of hat to protect you from the sun.

I responded to your PM regarding photos of Seton. Feel free to ask other questions as you think of them. I'm glad to share what I can.

Thoughts & prayers ~
Kathy

[OTO]

There's really nothing to do at Seton Hall, and the surrounding area (walking distance) doesn't have much.  We didn't rent a car, since my father who accompanied me didn't want to drive in LA (he was 73 years old at the time).  When we were there (May 2007), the TV room didn't have full cable selection, and the one computer in the family room had a very slow internet connection.    My father accompanied me.    He spent most of the day reading books and magazines.  We watched old videos/DVDs in the TV room too.   We would try to go for walk around the hospital grounds and neighborhood three times a day (as I recovered we went farther, but the first couple of days, it was to the cafeteria and back only).  Once or twice, my nephew who lived in LA was able to get away from work, and take us out for a meal.  At the end, we were very bored.     For me it was convenient and cheap.    Some other patients that had surgery the same day recovered faster and were out-an-about doing things.