By Peggy Sue McRae, Journal contributor
If you are a senior living on an island, sooner or later, it is bound to happen: you will be required to go off-island for medical purposes. Granted, that could mean anything from picking up a new pair of glasses at Costco to being flown off to Harborview in a helicopter. Recently, I wrote about my upcoming heart surgery in Bellingham. I’m happy to report that my TAVI, or Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant surgery, went well, and I am now happily recuperating at home – but I made a lot of trips to Bellingham over this past month. Here are just a few observations and recommendations from along the way.
The Medical Priority Loading Pass, as it is called, or the WSDOT Ferries Division Medical Preferential Load Program, is great. Ask about this when you are making your medical appointments. Leaving from Friday Harbor you will be directed to line up below the ferry line next to Cannery Landing. The question to consider is: do you want to be next to the elevator so you can get to the passenger deck, or do you want to be next to the car deck bathroom? You will be instructed to turn on your hazard lights when loading and will be directed to the location nearest to your choice. I found this very helpful.
I can’t say enough about the cardiac team in Bellingham at St. Joe’s. From my surgeon, whom I trust with my life, to the kid who wheeled me through the hospital hallways talking to me about the art, they won my respect and gratitude. Their professionalism, teamwork and congeniality gave me the confidence to place myself in their capable hands.
With my check-in time the day of my surgery being at 7 a.m., we were advised to stay in a hotel. I spent one night in the hospital after my surgery and then was advised to stay in Bellingham for one more night. This took us to the hospital-recommended Oxford Suites Hotel.
Oxford Suites is a 10-minute drive from the hospital. We got an Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA-outfitted room. With my list of pre-surgery shower instructions, it was helpful to have a huge shower with a bench in it where I could go down my night-before-surgery checklist. My support friends and I took full advantage of the hotel’s complimentary evening wine and morning breakfast. We only wistfully looked at the “This way to the pool and sauna” sign, wishing we had bathing suits or, in my case, wishing I were traveling with an entirely different agenda.
The logistics of mainland medical appointments can be daunting, yet even a peek-a-boo view from the ferry’s car deck can remind us of how beautiful our island home is. In spite of inevitable inconveniences, there is no place like home.
