Today I finally had my appointment with ACCESS, the Los Angeles County service that will pick you up in a van with a ramp and take you places if you need a ride and can’t drive yourself. I had an appointment almost two months ago, but the drivers went on strike and the office workers wouldn’t cross their picket line (and rightly so), so it got postponed until today.

The main offices are in Commerce, and involve an all-day ordeal of being fetched between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m., riding in traffic down to Commerce, waiting around for your interview, and then being taken home, probably also in traffic. Fortunately for me (since sitting still for longer than 45 minutes is not good for me), I discovered by chance that they also have an office in Santa Clarita, which is about 30 minutes away from me (by freeway), in the opposite direction of traffic. They only do interviews there one day a week, however, so you have to book far in advance. I booked this appointment back on December 1st. (They make you work to deserve this service!)

Kirsten picked me up and drove me out there in her mom’s old PT Cruiser, and since it’s not in the greatest shape, we left extra early and took surface streets the whole way instead of going on the freeway, which significantly added to our trip. But we are always able to fill up empty air space with talk-talk, so that was no hardship. We had discussed going to breakfast beforehand, but neither of us likes to get up early, and now that it takes me about 90 minutes start to finish to get ready to leave the house, it’s even less appealing. Also, getting in and out of the car is taxing on my knees, and I wanted to show up feeling fresh and alert instead of tired and stressed out. So we left at 11:45 for my 1:00 appointment; there was no one else waiting, so we got right in, and the interview took less than half an hour.

They want to know what condition you have that makes you eligible to use the service, so I explained about the lipoedema and the lymphedema and my knees; you have to sign some paperwork for stuff like not holding them liable if you hit your head on the low roof while climbing into the van and things like that; and you have to tell them what medications you are taking, with any possible side effects, in case something comes up while you are in their care. Then my interviewer snapped a photo of me for the ACCESS I.D. and told me I would hear from someone in two weeks about whether my application had been approved. She added that she highly doubted there would be a question.

If your trip with ACCESS is under 20 miles, it’s $2.75 each way; a longer distance and they give you a figure when you make the reservation. You have to call 24 hours ahead of time to book a ride; and you have to book your return ride at that time too. The only catch that we discovered when we asked questions is, the van will arrive to take you home at the time specified, wait five minutes, and then leave, and they won’t come back to get you. So if you go to your doctor and she’s running, say, 45 minutes behind schedule, you have to either tell the doctor you have to reschedule and leave because your ride has arrived, or you’re stranded and have to find another way home. Call a friend, call an Über, take a bus, but ACCESS isn’t coming. This last has made me wonder if I need to switch certain doctors, who notoriously make me wait an hour past my appointment time! Because with my conditions, although I could call an Über, if it’s the wrong kind of car I might not be able to get into it!

When I drive my car, which is seldom these days, I am able to toss my right leg up and over the door sill, then hop closer on the other leg, sit down in the driver’s seat, and haul in my left one by grabbing hold of my pant leg and lifting. (I have a Jeep Renegade.) Riding with someone else is sometimes a problem, because I’m getting into the passenger side, and I can’t throw my left leg, nor can I lift my right one! But we figured out something today that will make entry easier: If the car is by the curb, rather than in the driveway, it means I am up high enough above the floor of the car that I can simply step sideways into it instead of having to lift up and over, and then I can collapse into the seat and haul the other leg in. Today, my right leg was so heavy that Kirsten had to reach down and push up under my foot to get it into the car. I somehow don’t see an Über driver being willing to do that, but the ACCESS vans have a door with a ramp that I can walk up using my walker or my cane, and all I have to do is remember to duck my head to get into my seat. So I’m hoping to be blessed with a positive decision on February 8th.

Since we didn’t go to breakfast and then the appointment was over with in short order, we decided we’d stop for a leisurely lunch instead. We drove around in a couple of the mall parking lots out there and found a Mexican restaurant that looked cute, so we treated ourselves to enchiladas, beans, rice, and a margarita apiece. Day drinking! When you’ve been shut in your house for almost a month, it has an alluring appeal! It was so nice to be out and about, to linger over the chips basket while we chatted about this, that, and the other. I have to confess, though, that it was also nice to get home, kick off my shoes, and change back into my pajama bottoms and baggy sweater, take the pins out of my hair, and subside into my desk chair to write this update.

Fingers crossed for ACCESS in February!