One of the requirements for being on the transplant list at UW Medical Center is the commitment to being able to get to the hospital within 3 hours of receiving “the call.” By checking GoogleMaps or MapQuest, our house is 3 hours, 18 minutes door to door—190 miles. Since these calculations are based upon driving at normal speeds, it certainly is within the realm of possibility that we could get there in under 3 hours if we pressed the speed limit a little bit.
But what about running into rush hour traffic? Or the occasional closing of I-5 due to accident or flooding (as has happened twice in the last few years). The transplant program requires a back-up plan. Without one, they insist that those on the donor list take up temporary residency in Seattle.
We’ve reviewed a variety of options—there are certainly plenty of commercial flights between Portland and Seattle. Horizon offers flights every 30 minutes during peak hours (the times most likely to be slow on the freeway). But adding in time to drive to the airport, get through security, boarding, the 45 minute flight, deplaning and then a quick drive from SeaTac to the hospital (18 miles through Seattle’s worst traffic congestion) doesn’t make this any faster under normal conditions.
We checked with some charter companies and air ambulances, but in addition to costing thousands of dollars, they cannot guarantee that they will have a plane and flight crew available to make this trip any faster.
We currently have two back-up plans: a new airline, (SeaPort) flies between Flightcraft at PDX and Boeing Field. SeaPort currently offers 9 scheduled flights per day. And since they fly out of Flightcraft, you can avoid the security/check-in process and get on a plane much faster. Of course the flights are not quite as frequent, but there is additional savings on the other end, as Boeing Field is only half the distance from the hospital as SeaTac.
Our other option is a private pilot who operates an Air Taxi service out of Hillsboro. Her rates are nearly as low as the commercial airlines, but of course it’s a one pilot/one plane situation, so there is no guarantee that this option will be available at the moment we need it.
So the plan basically looks like this…
- Stay aware of major issues affecting traffic between Portland and Seattle that might close I-5 for extended periods.
- If the call comes in the middle of the night (which is typical), make a bee-line for Seattle in the car. Drive as fast as we safely can and hope we don’t get pulled over (see below).
- If the timing would get us into Seattle during peak traffic hours, call Rose Air and see if she is available to fly us to Boeing.
- If Rose Air is unavailable, check flight schedules for SeaPort.
- If all else fails, revert back to getting in the car and driving fast.
By now you are probably thinking, “why not call the highway patrol and ask for an escort?” We talked with the folks at the transplant team and they advised that neither OSP or WSP offers such a service. If we do get pulled over, we’re to explain the situation, give them the phone number for the transplant team, and hope that they will let us get back under way as fast as possible.
The three hour time limit is somewhat arbitrary—and depending on who you ask at the transplant program has varying degrees of flexibility. Bottom line, they want you there quickly. In my next posting, I’ll discuss what’s happening behind the scenes while the recipient is barreling down I-5.
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As an update to the “Walking the Fish” post, Shirley has upped her distance and is now doing over a mile during each swim session. This was a major goal for her and I am personally amazed at how fast she reached it.
Until next time.
Greg
