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Gnusgal

Gnusgal

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2002
Messages
2,038
Location
Texas
Okay, I know I have been gone for a long time (a month, I think), but the holidays were just really busy, yada, yada, yada.

Anyway, I have a question for those of you who have had to travel big distances for your medical care before. I will be going to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN in March to see an ACHD specialist for evaluation. They will also be doing a pacemaker check and making a decision on what kind of pacemaker to replace this one with (ICD, bi-ventricular, etc.). It's possible that I will be having that surgery AT the Mayo. But I don't know if it would be at that time or if I'll have to go back later (depends on how much life is left on my current pacer, I imagine).

So here's my question: How do you book hotel rooms and flights if you don't know how long you'll be there? I know I'm scheduled for tests on Monday and to see the ACHD doc on Tuesday, but other than that I don't know. The scheduler at the clinic said that I should try to get a flexible return ticket, but I've never done that and don't know how. Does anyone have any information on this kind of thing?

Thanks so much!
 
First of all, I think you could book a hotel room for longer than you really expect to need it and cancel the extra days if you don't need to use them. Most hotels don't charge a fee if you cancel by a certain hour, say 4PM or something similar. When you book your airline ticket explain what the situation is and hopefully you will get someone very helpful on the phone. There have been a few times when I've gone to be with a very sick parent or parent-in-law when I've had to postpone my return trip because of a very deteriorating condition. In each case the airlines changed my return trip to open-ended based on availability. It just means that as soon as you know when your return trip will be that they will give you a seat as long as one is available. Just be up front with the hotel and the airlines and let them know what the situation is.

Regardless, I hope it all goes well and you are again a new, improved, Niki.
 
Can you contact Mayo to see if they have a department that helps with this kind of thing? They might have recommended hotels with reduced rates and such too.
 
I expect the two referrals above are right on target. It stands to reason that Mayo would have some hotel recommendations because people from all over go there, many knowing nothing about NY.

When my bro was so grave last year, little sister came from Dallas to help. When she got here, his situation kept getting worse, she called the airlines about return and they fixed her up, but he was still so bad she had to do it again. They were very helpful to her and rearranged as she needed.

Best wishes, my dear.
 
Nikki,
did you think out using an Angel flight org? then not only is it free but they ar used to accompinating plans than change easily, Alos I never went to mayo but most hotels ect that give hospital dscounts and are listed on a hospital site are pretty flexible too, Lyn
 
I did find a map of hotels around the Mayo (in Rochester) that give patient discounts. I'm thinking I'll probably call the Day's Inn. I'll see what I can find out about Angel Flight. I also noticed a phone number on the Mayo Web site for AA discount flights so I'll be calling them.
 
Hotels/Mayo MN

Hotels/Mayo MN

We have always booked @ the Spring Hill Suites in Rochester, right across from the Mayo St Mary's Hospital when Nathan became sick with endocarditis and follow up for his surgery. This is about 5 minutes from the Mayo clinic, but it is wonderful if you are having outpatient surgeries/procedures because you can run back and forth, not worring about parking. I believe that if you stay with them two nights, you can hold your room for more days and cancel by 11:00 am the following day if need be. The have an outsanding free continental breakfast w/eggs, sausage, bacon, toast/bagel/English muffin/oatmeal etc and also the Canadian Duck is just next door if you want more formal dining; I believe it was close to $100 per night w/hosp discount.

Good luck with your tests and trip to the Mayo. :) Ann
 
Ross maybe this could go in reference place?

Ross maybe this could go in reference place?

Gnusgal said:
I did find a map of hotels around the Mayo (in Rochester) that give patient discounts. I'm thinking I'll probably call the Day's Inn. I'll see what I can find out about Angel Flight. I also noticed a phone number on the Mayo Web site for AA discount flights so I'll be calling them.
Click to expand...


Here is a great link to a group "The Air Care Alliance is a nationwide league of humanitarian flying organizations whose volunteer pilots are dedicated to community service. This ACA site will introduce you to us and to all the groups we list whose volunteers perform public benefit flying for health care, patient transport, disaster relief, environmental support, and other missions of public service.
Here is your only one-stop CENTRAL LISTING for FREE AIR TRANSPORTATION SERVICES provided by volunteer pilots and charitable aviation groups. Here is the link to their home page http://www.aircareall.org/

this goes to the HUGE list of organization that offer flights
http://www.aircareall.org/listings.htm#national
 
Niki,

You may want to ask your friends / acquaintances / co-workers if they can recommend a good local Travel Agency. All sorts of different tickets are available, fixed departure and return dates being the cheapest with additional charges for refundable tickets. Also ask about Flight Insurance and charges for schedule changes (may be $50 or $100).

www.cheapoair.com is a good place to look for low cost flights (booked in advance by X weeks).

Good Luck !

'AL Capshaw'
 
There are several hotels of various prices directly across the street from St Mary's hospital the most expensive is the Marriott Courtyard for ~$110 per night with discount for Mayo and 7 day+ stay (it is very nice - I stayed there the last 2 nights and found the rooms great and the staff pleasant), the Marriott Springhill is down the street about 2 blocks and is ~$100/ night with breakfast and many people like it (but my wife doesn't want to walk the two extra block when I'm having surgery in early February so we went with the Courtyard), also there are several smaller hotels in the $50-60/night price range (the Fiksdal and the Blondell and others) depending on your needs. But I would recommend staying close to St Mary's.

Mark
 
Traveler said:
There are several hotels of various prices directly across the street from St Mary's hospital the most expensive is the Marriott Courtyard for ~$110 per night with discount for Mayo and 7 day+ stay (it is very nice - I stayed there the last 2 nights and found the rooms great and the staff pleasant), the Marriott Springhill is down the street about 2 blocks and is ~$100/ night with breakfast and many people like it (but my wife doesn't want to walk the two extra block when I'm having surgery in early February so we went with the Courtyard), also there are several smaller hotels in the $50-60/night price range (the Fiksdal and the Blondell and others) depending on your needs. But I would recommend staying close to St Mary's.

Mark
Click to expand...
The reason I was looking at the Days Inn is because not only is it close to the Mayo Clinic (2 blocks, it looks like), but it is also accross the street from a mall. I figured that would make it easy to find food near the hotel without having to eat IN the hotel. Plus, the rate when I checked was $69/night for Mayo patients. Do you think it would be better to be by St. Mary's? I don't know where the testing and stuff usually takes place, nor am I familiar with the area, so advice is certainly appreciated.

Thanks,
 
Gnusgal said:
The reason I was looking at the Days Inn is because not only is it close to the Mayo Clinic (2 blocks, it looks like), but it is also accross the street from a mall. I figured that would make it easy to find food near the hotel without having to eat IN the hotel. Plus, the rate when I checked was $69/night for Mayo patients. Do you think it would be better to be by St. Mary's? I don't know where the testing and stuff usually takes place, nor am I familiar with the area, so advice is certainly appreciated.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
Nikki, We never went to mayo, but I think your thoughts are pretty good, mall food courts usually have lots of cheap food and 69 seems like a good deal. When we took Justin to boston for testing a few years ago, he didn't stay at one of the closest hotels to the hospital, because of cost and we were going to go to a baseball game at Fenway park (my bribe for getting Justin to go to yet another heart doctor lol) my thought at the time were that was fine for testing and IF something came up and they needed to do a little more and admit, then we would get one of the closer places to stay.Lyn
 
Hi,

I just had my surgery at Mayo 5 weeks and 3 days ago. I had to travel from Indiana, my parents came up from Florida, a buddy of mine from Maryland, and my girlfriend from Michigan. All of us stayed at the Best Western Soldiers Field. It is fairly cheap (72-82 a night). The rooms are clean and the saff is friendly. But the real selling point with the Best Western is their on call shuttle service. They will drive you anywhere in the city and come pick you up and take you back whenever you want. The drivers are very friendly and punctual. They drove my family and friends back and forth from Gonda and St. Mary's innumerable times. They also provided free airport shuttle service. Some other hotels may also provide this service, I'm not sure. But I have stayed there three times now and have never been dissapointed. Also, they will let you cancel your reservation with no questions asked. I ended up leaving almost a week sooner than I thought I was going to and it was no problem.

As for airfare, you can call AA and explain your situation and they will give you an open ended return flight.

As for your tests. Almost all of the testing and doctor visits will be done at GONDA. It is just a clinic. It is about 5 minutes from St. Mary's -- which is the hospital. I would imagine that if you have your pacemaker replacement it would be at St. Mary's. Still I would suggest Best Western...

You will be very impressed by the facilities. I couldn't get over how nice and clean and new the Clinic looked. They run things with amazing efficiency -- I still have trouble believing how quickly you go through your tests. The doctors in the ACHD clinic (my doc is Ammash) are excellent and the surgeons are also excellent. They will take verey good care of you.

If you get bored in between tests I recommend walking over to the Barnes and Noble down the street from Gonda. I spent many an hour in between tests reading all sorts of books in that store. There are a lot of excellent and cheap restaurants around town. If it was the summer I would recommend a few parks which I checked out with my Dad. It is a suprisingly beautiful place.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask

Brad
 
I had surgery in August at Mayo. As others have stated, most of the testing is done at the clinic in downtown and surgery is done at St. Mary's hospital. We stayed at the Staybridge Suites directly across the street from St. Mary's. They have a full kitchen, so we ate in sometimes. Also the Canadian Honker restaurant is right next door.

I will tell you that everything was closed up around there on weekends and at night, so maybe downtown is a better choice--especially since it seems your surgery will be minor and you can do more. I wanted a place with more amenities to recover from OHS.

As far as flights, I booked for what I estimated to be my time there which worked out, but I could have changed my ticket for a fee. I booked my hotel for longer intially, but cancelled the remainder of my reservation when I knew I wouldn't need it.

Mayo is amazing. I highly recommend it.

Good luck.
 
Nikki,

sorry i have no advice about traveling for medical care but I did want to wish you well with your preparations! I can't imagine having to deal with all those details as well as the emotional side of preparing.

Take Care!
Susie
 
Well, it's done. I have my flight and hotel reserved. I called American Airlines and talked to them and come to find out, it's a lot cheaper to go ahead and book a round-trip flight and pay for changes if need be. So that's what I did. I also went ahead and booked the Days Inn, since I know I'll be going to the Clinic, but don't know if I'll be having surgery or need to go to St. Mary's at all. I got to thinking that even if they decide to do the surgery up there, I don't know if it will be that week or not, since I'm on coumadin and they'd have to take me off (I assume) and do bridge therapy. I think that's the one thing I hate most about being on coumadin... But better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks, everyone for your help, advice, and support. I hate that I have to go to the Mayo, but at least I know I have people to turn to for support. :D
 
Someone just told me that American Airlines has a policy of not allowing patients to travel w/in 3 weeks of having OHS, so if you do have surgery, don't mention it to them or at least don't tell them what type of surgery you had.
 
Good to know. I shouldn't end up having open heart. If I have any surgery, I expect it will be a pacer or defib implant. But I'll be sure to not mention the surgery to them, just in case. Thanks!
 
I had expected a little more help from the person I talked to when I was scheduling my appt. but she didn't seem to know anything about flights or hotels. But I went onto the Mayo's web site and there was quite a bit of info there, fortunately. And I used their "medical discount" phone number for American Airlines to book my flight. I'm not sure how much money I saved, but it wasn't as bad as I'd feared, so that's good. And when I talked to the hotel I told them I would be a Mayo patient and I got the lowest rate.

I've traveled to Houston for medical care before, but my mom lives there so when I wasn't at the hospital I stayed with her, so there was nothing to really worry about. Plus, driving wasn't too big a deal (only 4 hours from where I live). But I don't want to drive to MN. My aunt says it's a nice drive, but I'd rather fly and get there faster. Besides, I don't know how much pain I'll be in IF I end up having surgery while I'm there. I don't want to end up stuck in a car for hours and hours and hours. Not that flying sounds like any fun either, but at least it should be shorter.

Thanks everyone for your kindness. I appreciate it very much.
 
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