May 21, 2025 • 52 mins
In this powerful episode of I (Patti Hunt) dives deep into a critical topic that every RVer needs to understand: how to be prepared for a medical emergency while traveling. Joined by Bob Bacheler, Managing Director of Flying Angels and a certified critical care flight nurse, they explore what to do when health emergencies strike far from home. From essential documents to travel insurance tips and real-life medical transport stories, this episode offers life-saving advice and actionable steps for RVers of all ages. Whether you're full-timing or weekend adventuring, don't hit the road without listening to this essential guide to RV health safety.
Key Takeaways:
- What to pack in your RV emergency go-folder (insurance, medical records, contact list)
- How to decide when to call 911 vs. drive to the ER
- The role of companies like Flying Angels in medical transport to get back “home”
Thank you for listening to the RV LIFE Podcast, I would love to hear from you, please leave me a comment or question here on the podcast page or on my social media channels:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
One minute you are living the RV dream, the next
you're in the ER, far from home.
What you do next is soimportant.
I'm Patti Hunt and you'relistening to the RV Life Podcast
.
Bob, what is it like to helpbring someone home when they're
(00:24):
sick or injured, scared and faraway from loved ones?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Patty.
As a healthcare professionaland a nurse, it is one of the
great joys to be able to helpsomebody in one of the worst
times of their life.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And we are going to hear all about what it takes to
bring somebody home when you'reout traveling, what it takes to
bring somebody home when you'reout traveling.
Even those of us who are fulltimers, as a lot of people know,
I was full time for over threeyears and I always thought of
wherever the RV was that washome.
But in an emergency, you wantto be with family, friends.
You want to be back quoteunquote back home.
(01:01):
So we're going to talk allabout that.
The RV Life podcast was createdto educate, entertain and
explore the RV lifestyle, withthe mission to inspire you to
live life to the fullest.
Today's guest is here to helpus be prepared for the
emergencies that everybody hopes.
They never have happened tothem, but you need to be
(01:22):
prepared for.
He will share his knowledge onhow to prepare for an emergency,
what to do when your loved oneis stable but needs to get back
home or to a different type offacility, as well as what to
consider when looking forinsurance as we RV around the
country.
(01:43):
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(02:07):
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Now let's talk about Bob.
(02:29):
Bob Batchelor is the Directorof Nursing Specialty Flight.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Physiologist.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Some of these are going to be difficult.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Certified Flight.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Registered Nurse Certified flight registered
nurse, certified critical careregistered nurse, certified
dementia practitioner andcertified travel health by the
International Society of TravelMedicine.
There are a whole lot ofletters after the name.
Bob has been a critical carenurse for over 30 years and a
(03:01):
flight nurse for over 15 yearsyears and a flight nurse for
over 15 years.
Bob is a passionate advocatefor the professionalism of
flight nursing and specialtycommercial medical escort
services.
Bob has served on the board ofdirectors for the Air and
Surface Transport NursesAssociation, has served as an
(03:24):
adjunct faculty for NewmanUniversity for the critical care
rotation and has contributed tomultiple texts on medical
transport as well as many newsoutlets and magazine.
Bob is currently the managingdirector of Flying Angels, which
has RNs and doctors around theUS and around the world to fly
(03:46):
with people who have medicalneeds on commercial carriers.
That is a mouthful, I think.
That's it.
We're done with the show.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Wow, it sounds like I've been doing this for a while
.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yes, it does, and I wanted all of these things
pointed out that you do becauseobviously you are incredibly
qualified.
But let's talk a little bitabout you personally.
You actually were an RVer right, I was an RVer.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I have had two class A RVs in my life.
I had a 32-foot gas RV but Ifell in love with diesel pusher
so I had an RV much like yours.
I think it was a 2002 MonacoDynasty.
(04:35):
That boy.
I just love being on the road.
My happy place was being out onthe highway and just rolling
down the road.
It was wonderful.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And you like the actual RV the driving part just
rolling down the road.
It was wonderful.
And you like the actual RV?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
the driving part of it more than the camping right.
I am one of those people thatyou know.
I really think I enjoy being onthe road and driving more than
I enjoy going to the places Iwas going to be at, which is
very much like my current flightcareer that you know.
I love being on the airplane.
I love being a passenger on acommercial airline.
Doesn't really matter where I'mgoing, so maybe it's just
(05:10):
traveling.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Wow.
Now for my listeners that haveheard the podcast before, they
know this story, I want to givea little update.
So my husband, dan, and Istarted full-time RVing four
years ago, like a lot of people.
It was during the pandemic.
What was there to do?
So we decided to selleverything and buy an RV and
(05:32):
travel the road full-time.
And I tell my listeners thatwhen Dan suggested we go
full-time, I laughed because Ithought it was joking because to
that point I had only been inan RV for seven nights.
Well, those seven nights inthat RV was your RV.
So that kind of completes thestory.
(05:52):
So, and I loved it, I don'tknow, I did love the destination
, I think, more than the actualtravel, but I did enjoy those
nights we spent in the RV goingcamping, but there were only
seven nights.
So what did I know about goingfull-time RV?
So, as many of you may suspect,bob and I have actually been
(06:16):
really good friends for 20 years.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Closest best of friends, and so I know I'm
partial closest best of friends,and so I know I'm partial.
But I knew that talking aboutthis topic was so important in
the RV community.
As people will hear, I had myown experience with difficulties
while on the road, and so Iknew that you had to be on the
show.
We had to talk about all theseimportant things, so let's jump
(06:42):
in.
First of all, why did youchoose nursing some 30 years ago
?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Well, it's an interesting story because I had
gone to college 10 years earlier.
I was a serial entrepreneur,which anybody who's an
entrepreneur knows ofteninvolves failure, and I, like
many entrepreneurs, failed atquite a number of the things I
tried.
I decided I was going to have afamily and I realized that if I
(07:07):
was going to have a family, Iwanted to make sure that I had a
backup career, something Icould do in the event that my
entrepreneurship didn't work out.
So I decided to go to nursingschool.
I said, well, that'll be fun.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So I went to community college, you decided
that it'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
I decided I wasn't doing enough, so let me just do
something else.
So I went to community collegeat Philadelphia for their
associate's degree in nursing.
I did not think I was evergoing to make a career out of it
.
I didn't think it was somethingthat I had this passion to do.
But I wound up getting out ofit and I wound up taking a
(07:46):
position as a trauma nurse inone of the major level one
trauma center ICUs and I said,boy, you know this is an awful
lot of fun and I enjoyed itFriday night in the ER and the
trauma bay.
It was just a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Wait, not only nursing, but trauma, absolutely.
Not only nursing, but trauma Inone of the major trauma ERs in
Philadelphia.
Of all places, this was fun.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yeah, well, you know that's where most of us guys go.
I mean anybody who's a guy innursing not all, but you know,
for a large number we wind upgoing into the trauma, into the
ICU, into the burn units, intothe real adrenaline fields.
That's where I went into.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And if people want to see what a day in the life
looks like in the trauma ER.
We've been watching the showthe Pit and you said it's really
very realistic.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I have yet to find anybody who is a clinician who's
watched the Pit, who has reallyany arguments with it.
Spoiler alert you know, aroundthe 19th episode they get a
little wonky, but other thanthat the show is a terrific show
and I'm actually thrilled tosee it come back.
(09:03):
And I'm actually thrilled tosee it come back.
When I was first starting mynursing career, we would go into
the rooms at 10 o'clock on aThursday night and watch ER back
when it was a brand new show.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And was that as realistic, do you think?
I think it was.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
I think it was.
I think the pit adds a newdegree of realism, but for the
most part we were in ER watchingER and saying well, yeah, that
sounds pretty good, the real dayin the life of what an
emergency room nurse goesthrough.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Okay, but today's topic is incredibly important to
me.
Important to me and aftertalking to the RV Life podcast
team our team of four peoplethat sometimes more that we talk
to about good topics and forthe RV community, we knew this
was a good topic.
It is a very personal topic forme, having dealt with a lot of
(09:59):
medical issues with Dan being onthe road, and we'll talk about
that as we go through.
But right now one start withpeople going out, whether
they're full time, whetherthey're part time, whether
they're taking that weekend tripin the car.
There are some things thatpeople need to take with them to
be prepared.
You know, if you're outcampaigning, you have an
(10:21):
emergency.
What type of like?
Let's start with like, basicpaperwork.
What types of things shouldpeople have with them?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Well, as far as paperwork goes, everybody should
have their go-to file.
This is a file that's going tolist all their medical
conditions.
This is going to list all theirinsurance.
This is going to list all theirpoints of contact.
There's an organization calledthe Aging Life Care Association
and what they do is they carefor seniors, and one of the
(10:49):
terrific things that they'vecome up with is just your
GoPacket.
It's a red folder thateverybody should know where it
is and there should be copies ofit.
And in the event that somethinghappens, if you're in an
emergency, if you're in anaccident, if something
catastrophic happens, you're notrooting around saying where's
my insurance, who's my doctor,who are my points of contact,
(11:09):
who are my specialistsEverything in one particular
place and you can just open upand everything you need to know
is in there.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Including medications because I know.
I've gone into the ER, I knowwhat all the medications are,
but in that moment you cannotthink of one name, of one
prescription, and it does makeit more difficult.
Now, in the world, I do lovethe paper folder because you
never know.
But in the world of digital, Ithink having copies digitally as
(11:38):
well is great.
We always have our phones withus.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Having everything on a USB drive is also helpful, but
one of the problems in modernmedicine is and even, I think,
philadelphia, where we are now,you know, there are several
different hospital systems andthey all have terrific medical
record systems.
The problem is, none of themtalk to each other.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
So they're not connected.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So in a lot of times, if one hospital needs to send
information to another hospital,we're dealing with faxes.
I mean most hospitals senddocuments by fax.
It's one of the few still tothis day because faxes are still
considered HIPAA compliant.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
So, you.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
A lot of hospitals can't even email records.
So you're talking about, youknow, taking a document,
printing it out, sending it to afax machine.
Ideally they're going to fax itwith the right side up and
they're going to fax the copy tothe side of the paper that
actually has the information onit, rather than just faxing the
back copy and then you're there.
(12:37):
So you might as well have aclean typed out page, and if you
want to have everything on aUSB 2, usb drive 2, that's
probably also better.
But the important part, havethe information handy.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Right Now for me, all of these documents and again,
having gone through it with Dan,I have a folder on my phone
that has copies of all of thesedocuments as well.
The other thing that I think isimportant for RVers that I
think is important for RVers Iwent through this when you have
to call 911 and you're in thecampground, the things that you
(13:11):
should know and I've said thison episodes before I think
everybody needs a wipe-off typeboard the name of the campground
that you pulled into, the sitenumber you're at and the
emergency number for thecampground.
Because I didn't realize thisbut I was told that at some
campgrounds if an ambulance oremergency is coming, the
(13:33):
campground needs to know to openthe gate.
So that all should be the firstthing you do when you are
setting up your RV and it shouldbe like I said I use a wipe off
board.
You could use a whiteboard,whatever works, you could use a
paper that you slide in,whatever works, but everybody in
the RV should know where thatis and how to dial 911.
(13:58):
I have a friend of mine.
She fell off a chair.
She was hurt.
She had three little kids there.
Her eight I think it was eightor nine knew how to call for an
ambulance.
They were in a campground.
So really everybody should beprepared.
And again, I told you we'retalking about things we hope
never happens.
But the better preparedeverybody is, everybody is, the
(14:20):
better.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
And GPS will be able to take EMS to the campground,
but you know if you're in Site512, they're going to have a
heck of a time.
So this, ideally you know, onceyou have the emergency and you
call 911, hopefully somebody atthe front desk or the reception
can actually guide them intowhere Site 512 is.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
And that's exactly because you know, again, my RV
community.
You know, if you're in ThousandTrails, orlando, looking for a
site, there's over 1,100 sitesthere.
You don't want the ambulance tohave to figure out where to go,
so that's so important.
And again, nobody wants theseunfortunate things to happen.
(15:05):
I know when we think aboutemergencies we think about the
er and all those things.
We're thinking the oldercommunity I hear that all the
time, our fears of the oldercommunity and if they get sick
or for.
But you have a lot ofexperience within your company
of flying younger people younger, so let's talk about that.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Sure, when people are younger, they tend to think
they're invincible.
A lot of the older populationthat we transport are
exacerbations of some of thechronic conditions they have
their lung problems, their heartproblems.
The younger population arepeople who get injured, and boy
(15:46):
I'll tell you what if I'velearned anything in my day.
Being at a campground and beingout in the woods is a place
where you can get injured prettydarn easily.
One of the things that I'mconstantly preaching about is to
make sure that your membershave a medical travel insurance
policy or some policy that willmake sure that covers the
medical expenses if they're outof network, from where their
(16:09):
home base may be and whetherthey're young or old.
Again, if you're older, well,that might be necessary for a
chronic condition.
If you're younger, that may bebecause you tripped on a log or
you had some other accidenttripped on a log or you had some
other accident.
You know, I've had them myself,yeah, and I've transported
(16:31):
plenty of people who have hadaccidents while going out and
hiking or mountain climbing orchopping wood or doing or skiing
.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
You had a case.
The guy was skiing.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
We've done any number of transfers of people on ski.
You know who got injured whileskiing.
Yes, Right.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Okay, so you've touched on travel insurance.
Now I want to break this down.
You are not going to promoteany specific company People have
to do their research but youcan give some tips on what to
look for.
So there's health insurance.
That is something pretty mucheverybody has.
If you don't, health insuranceis important For those of you
(17:08):
that are full-time or travel alot.
Rvers Insurance is a company.
I've had them on the show.
I'll put that information inthe show notes.
They are a company that issupported by RV Life.
I have spoken to them.
I was looking for insurancethrough them.
Everybody from the company I'vecome in contact with was
(17:29):
amazing at helping me figure outwhich insurance would be better
, and the insurance for Dan andhis age, with his medical
conditions, was different fromthe insurance for me.
So there's somebody, like Isaid I'll put that in the show
notes to reach out.
That's the health insurance.
Some of the health insurances,like Independence, blue Cross,
(17:51):
will cover you if you're out innetwork, and that's something
that everybody with theirindividual health insurance
should look into, right?
So if they're from Pennsylvaniaand Florida, what's covered?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
That's something that , if you're going to be on the
road, if you're going to betraveling, you want to make sure
you know what does yourinsurance cover when you're out
of network, Because the co-paysand deductibles outside of
network can be multiples of whatthey are in network and many of
us have high deductible planswhere you know you need to spend
$5,000 before the insurancewill kick in.
(18:25):
Well, if you're out of network,that could be $20,000, $25,000.
That can be very significant.
So these are things that youdon't want to wait until you
need before you actually go outand figure out what insurance
you have or what your insurancewill cover.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Right, and I think there's a couple of ways.
Calling the insurance company,health insurance company you
have, checking with them what'scovered.
Reading a fine print oninsurance is daunting at best,
but you have to know, you haveto find out.
Do not I'm going to act like ateacher.
Do not post this on Facebookand expect to get a good answer.
(19:04):
You have to do the research.
Look at your insurance company.
For those of us who arefull-time like being full-time
we made sure our insurance willcover us pretty much wherever we
were.
Again, depending on the policythat we picked.
There is the fine print andthose kinds of things.
Now, is it also true that ifyou have an emergency and you're
(19:25):
out of state that kind of yougo to an ER?
Right, you don't question?
So can you talk a little bitabout?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You are going to go to your local ER and they're
going to treat you there.
Your insurance, your generalmedical insurance, will most
likely not pay to repatriate orsend you back to wherever your
home base is, so you want tomake sure that you have specific
insurance that would get youback home in the event that you
(19:53):
need that.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Okay, so two things here.
If I have health insurance inPennsylvania, I go to Florida, I
have an emergency, Some healthinsurance will cover that.
They'll cover the emergency.
That is correct and that's whatthey deem an emergency.
Not necessarily They'll coverthe emergency that is correct
and that's what they deem anemergency, not necessarily what
you deem an emergency.
Some insurance companies, againjust trying to give as much
information, will say you shouldhave gone to urgent care as
(20:15):
opposed to an ER.
So find out Now you're talkingabout get to the emergency room.
You have an issue and we'regoing to talk about a couple of
situations with Dan, becausethis is very specific.
I called Bob two and a halfyears ago and said Dan had COVID
.
A lot of people don't know this.
He had gotten so bad that I hadto call an ambulance and he was
(20:40):
taken to a hospital and at thatpoint, honestly, we weren't
sure if he was going to survive,and so it's hard to talk about.
But there you were.
The next day you flew out.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Sorry, not everybody has a bomb.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
But you flew out and stayed with me for three, five
plus days.
He was in the ICU.
At that point you're notworried about insurance or any
of that.
I mean honestly it truly anemergency, calling an ambulance
when you're in that situation,remembering the site you're in,
(21:15):
even just remembering your ownname in that kind of situation.
So he was taken to the hospitaland having I guess one of the
points here is yes, theinsurance, yes, the information,
what medicine?
What are the medical conditions?
But having those people thatare supportive because as strong
as I am in emergency situationsand I think I'm really good at
(21:37):
emergency situations there'slimits to it.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
So there's limits for everybody even even those of us
who are professionals, who havespent years in trauma.
You know when I would take oneof my children to the ER when
they were injured.
You know, boy, I just was notnearly as calm and quiet and as
collected.
You know when it was mydaughter there in the hospital
(22:01):
bed, you know that raises anentirely different frame of
reference for you.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
And you really.
And the point, the big pointhere is we could talk about all
the details and all thepaperwork, but having that
support, you need the support.
You need to be able to callsomebody and cry, and literally
that's what I did.
I'm not sure there were wordsthat came out.
I think I got the point across,but you know, at some point you
(22:26):
need that.
So having people that you knowcan support you in an emergency
situation when it comes toinsurance and those kinds of
situations you're not thinkingabout that at the time, you know
, and the hospital will come invery quickly after your loved
one is brought into the hospitalto talk about insurance, and
(22:47):
they want those cards of thatinformation.
For sure, that's notnecessarily the focus, but now.
So Dan was in the hospital.
In that situation I ended uphaving to bring him back to the
RV and he hadn't been out of bedin 17 days, so he could barely
walk.
He wanted, after 17 days, toget out of the hospital and I
(23:11):
had to put my foot down becausehe couldn't walk to get into the
RV, and so you know that was asafety concern.
So I demanded that the hospitalkeep him there until he was
able to walk so I could get himinto the RV and all of that that
needs to be set up when you'rein an RV.
He was on oxygen, so havingoxygen, making sure you're
(23:35):
somewhere, that you're plumpedin, not running on battery.
So these are all things, and wecould go into all these little
details.
The point is to have somebodythat's supportive to you, know,
be aware of certain things thatyou're going to be able to do on
your own and some things thatyou're just going to need help.
Now Dan got ill again a littleover a year ago, and this was
(23:59):
out of my expertise.
This was out of what I canhandle.
My expertise, this was out ofwhat I could handle, and so, for
those people who know, it wasover a year ago now and he had
had a number of strokes that weweren't even aware of Again.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
I called you.
You have me on speed dial atthis point.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I absolutely did and I was like I just don't know
what to do at this point.
I knew I could keep taking careof him, and so you know.
You said what do we need to do?
Now I am and I will continue tosay incredibly grateful that I
did not just get on a plane withhim and fly him back.
He worsened after we got backhere, but that would not have
(24:46):
been a good thing.
So when I called you, you saidwhat do you want to do?
Like, I'll come down, I'll flyyou back.
We ended up packing up thewhole RV and you drove us back.
The question is how do peoplemake that decision?
I know there are people thatget on a plane, fly their loved
one back Not necessarily thesafest thing.
(25:07):
How do you?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Well, as you identified earlier, you want to
be around family, you want to bewhere your support structure is
.
So, in your particular case,your support structure was here
in Philadelphia.
Your children were here inPhiladelphia and Dan my pop was
here.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Let's just get real.
Your children were here inPhiladelphia, and Dan and Bob
was here.
Let's just get real, you werehere.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
And Dan grew up in the Philadelphia area and that's
how Dan and I had becomefriends many, many years ago.
So the question is how do youwant to get back?
You need to get back to whereyour support structure is, which
is what you decided that youwanted to do, and there's any
(25:49):
number of ways of doing that.
Now, the company that I managewe have doctors and nurses as
Patty introduced who accompanypeople on the commercial
airlines.
So you know that was one of theconsiderations to send one of
our nurses down, pick you andDan up and then fly you back on
a commercial airline.
And you know, we have themedical monitoring equipment, we
have the oxygen equipment, sowe could have done that safely.
(26:11):
The concern was that you had allyour stuff in it.
We knew, you know, that whenthis happened you were going to
want to have your stuff backhere in Philadelphia and you
were going to live, you weregoing to come back to
Philadelphia for an extendedperiod of time because this is
where your children were.
So in that particular case, yes, we flew down and you had your
(26:33):
stuff loaded up in the U-Haul,so we just drove.
We just drove back that way.
But you know, normally I wouldhave just recommended that we
send one of our team down, youknow, get Dan, and then we have.
We have a go to guy named Doug,who was a terrific flight nurse
, been with us for you know,since day one, and you know he
(26:56):
would he would have gotten youback?
Yes, absolutely.
Now the problem there was allyour stuff and your RV would
have been in Florida, but we gotyour stuff back and your RV was
there for a while anyway.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Right, right.
And so just to clarify things,I'd like to make sure people are
following Going back on anairplane with a commercial
flight and I've been with you atsome of your conferences
commercial flight, americanAirlines, united commercial
flight, which makes it way moreaffordable for somebody.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Well, that's the.
You know, that's our nichemarket.
Everybody's familiar with theair ambulance companies, the
private Lear jets that transportpeople around, and that's one
way to go, but in many casesthis is an out-of-pocket expense
for people.
So it's a fraction of the costto fly somebody on a commercial
airline with a flight nurse thanit is to put them on their
(27:52):
ambulance.
A lot of people don't know ourservice is even an option and
again, the problem is whensomebody is in a crisis
situation, they may not havedays and weeks to research just
to see what are all the optionsout there.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Right, and again I'm going to say this is we're
talking about flying angels.
You can go to flyingangelscomand we're going to talk more
about that.
I do have to take a quick break.
Well, we talked a lot so far.
This is, and this is veryimportant to both of us If
you're looking for an RV, whenyou're an RVer, you want to know
(28:26):
that somebody's with you everystep of the way, just like if
you have a medical issue.
So if you're looking for salesor service, blue Compass RV is
the company.
There.
Locations coast to coast, morethan 15,000 new and used RVs and
(28:48):
over a thousand service bays,with more certified RV
technicians than any otherdealer.
Blue Compass is with you today,tomorrow and the road ahead.
Visit your local Blue CompassRV dealer or go to
bluecompassrvcom today, and sofor those of you who are still
excited about the RV, you knowworld, the good does outweigh
(29:09):
the bad.
Blue Compass is a great way togo, so let's continue on that.
I'm going to go back into thislike in a progression.
Dan did go to the hospital atthis point, but he but yes, I
wanted to come back, quote,unquote home, and I'm going to
reiterate I would say all thetime home was where the RV was
(29:31):
until you had that majoremergency and I wanted to be
with family and friends, and sowe made the decision that it was
safe to bring him back.
Obviously, bring our stuff backIf you had thought, hey, we
need to get him back quickly, aflight would be the better way
to go For people.
How did they make that choice?
(29:52):
Do I get on an airplane withthem?
I've heard stories where acouple one of them was very ill
the insurance company bookedtheir flight, put them on a
flight.
There was nobody with them andthe person said that the flight
got canceled.
They called this insurancecompany I'm not going to mention
names and the insurance companysaid that is a airline issue,
(30:15):
that's not our issue.
And here he was.
I think it was the guy who wasthere with his ill wife.
That is not a situation youwant to be in.
But how do people determine?
Do I need an escort?
So there are people that willescort somebody back that does
not have medical background, acompany like Flying Angels that
(30:37):
does have highly qualified,certified nurses, or I can get
on the airplane myself.
How does somebody determinethat?
Speaker 2 (30:46):
The vast majority of people that we're transporting
are in the hospital system andthey've had their stroke or
they've had their heart attackor they've had their injury and
all of a sudden they're in theER, and that's where the
decision is being made what isbest for the patient.
It's not terribly common for usto be dealing with people in
(31:09):
their own RVs saying, well,we're not quite sure, what do we
want to do?
Do we want to go home?
Do we want to drive home?
Do we want to fly home?
Do we want somebody to bring ushome?
For the most part, we'retalking about those people who
have had the injury, who havehad the health problem and are
in serious condition at thispoint.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Okay, so it's an easier decision.
Now, truth be told, sometimesthe hospitals aren't giving you
the best, and I know we're nothere to bash anybody or say
anything, I'm going to talkabout my own personal experience
.
Some 17 years ago my father hadhad a major heart attack, a
hole in his heart that waspatched.
(31:53):
He was at Einstein Hospital,one of the top hospitals in
Philadelphia, and they want tofly him to the Cleveland Clinic
and the insurance companyrefused to send him by ambulance
, which is what the doctor wasrecommending Absolutely.
And yeah, yeah, he was on allkinds of medicine, I mean.
So, for people who don't know,when you have a hole in the
(32:14):
middle of your heart, you'reoxygenated and non-oxygenated
blood or mixing, and then youdie.
Right, you could.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It's not a good situation?
Speaker 1 (32:24):
No, not by any stretch.
Okay, I'm just making sure I'mnot being overdramatic.
If we had known about yourcompany and I guess it was
longer than 17 years ago well,if we had known about your
company, that would have been abetter option.
I'm not even sure that youwould have agreed.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
You know, given your father's condition and the way
it's been described to me, youknow I might have just said
you're better off with an airambulance company.
You know this is one of thethings that people call us and
you know doctors will call us,hospitals call us and say, hey,
is this somebody who you knowmeets the criteria to fly on a
commercial airline?
And if it's not safe, we're notgoing to do it.
(33:04):
So we'll just say, look, youneed an air ambulance.
And the problem there is airambulance is expensive and you
know people are spending tens ofthousands of dollars, you know,
for an air ambulance service.
But if you need it, that's whatyou need, you know there's no
cheap way to do it.
What our service is for thosepeople who don't necessarily
(33:25):
need that ICU level of care, youknow, but do need a medical
attention to flight.
That's kind of where we come in.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
OK, and we're talking about RVers.
We're talking about people who,for the most part, need to be
transported within the country,but you transport pretty much
anywhere, from anywhere toanywhere.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
We fly all over, all over the globe.
You know, antarctica, haiti andmaybe a few countries that end
in stand are places we're notgoing to right now, but China,
india, africa we're flyingpeople all over the world.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Okay, and so I'm going to be transparent and say
we're a little partial here.
I'm going to be transparent andsay we're a little partial here
If anybody has this issue orjust wants to make sure.
Again, knowing how to preparefor an emergency is the most
important thing, so knowing thatthis company exists.
If you don't want to listen toanything, we just said I went
(34:18):
through there so you could go toFlying Angels Philadelphia,
google it.
There are over 295 five-starreviews.
I just double-checked it'salmost 300 five-star reviews and
I the other day, preparing forthis episode, went through a few
(34:40):
after I've realized like 30minutes had gone by.
But some of the most touching,touching, heartfelt thank yous
and I can't tell you how manytimes they've called a nurse
like Doug an angel, audrey andyour other nurses, and that is
what you want to listen to.
You want to look at, check outthose reviews, get people's
(35:02):
honest opinions, because whenyou need this, then you want to
again be prepared.
So you know make sure that'spart of your emergency
information that Flying Angelsis a company that's there to
transport you should you need it.
A couple other questions.
First of all, before I go to myquestions, is there something
(35:23):
else that you want to add herethat I might be missing.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
No, you've actually done a terrific job of covering
the highlights you know.
Just to clarify, dan and I havebeen friends for coming up on
almost 40 years now, so you knowit was good to be able to help.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Dan out in this time of need.
To be able to help Dan out inthis time of need.
Yeah, it was a difficultsituation and I think I'm just
going to say sometimes in thosedifficult situations, you know
who the people are and you knowwhether you're on the road by
yourself and you just want toget away from your family and
friends.
At the end of the day, that'swho's going to be there and
(36:03):
hopefully nobody ever needsanything we talked about.
Nobody ever needs this.
You're RVing, you're traveling,you're enjoying life.
It's just nice to be prepared,right?
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Well, as you said, it's necessary to be prepared.
Just as you want to be preparedfor that mechanical breakdown
that you hope never happens, youwant to be prepared for that
mechanical breakdown that youhope never happens.
You want to be prepared forthat medical breakdown, if
something ever happens.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Right, right, so I did.
You also were on the showbefore.
I'm going to put that in theshow notes because we also
talked about medical kit, firstday kit, because there are times
you have to handle stuffyourself.
And what do I need in a medicalkit?
And again, it doesn't matter ifyou're just going for a weekend
.
There are certain things youshould be prepared for,
(36:50):
especially if you have kids,right absolutely kids are just
so unpredictable kids areaccidents.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Just what ready you know they're gonna happen as any
, I, I've had three kids of myown, you know well, you just
deal with it, oh yeah, oh yeah,me too, and I've been to yours
more times that I want to count.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
And so again just to recap in an emergency there's a
quick decision, whether you call911 or drive somebody to an
emergency room.
How do you, can you justquickly like that's a tough?
Speaker 2 (37:25):
one Again.
That's that crisis decision.
The faster you get somebody toan ER, the better off they are.
And you know the question thatyou have to make is can you get
somebody to treatment, or canyou get them to an ER faster
yourself than if you went andgot an ambulance to go get them
(37:48):
there?
So if you feel like you can getsomebody to a hospital in 10
minutes, you're probably betteroff just getting them to the
hospital than you know waitingthe 20, 30, 40 minutes it might
take for the ambulance to getthere and then start driving
back to the hospital.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
Right, and that is also obviously dependent.
So with Dan, when he had COVID,his oxygen level was 69.
Like even now saying that isjust mind-boggling.
The ambulance being there andthem starting him on oxygen was
(38:24):
a better decision.
Could I have gotten him to theER quicker, Maybe, but it was a
better decision to have themthere.
And maybe people will say whydid you wait?
He's a man, that's all I'mgoing to say is he is a man.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Dan is stubborn.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Really.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Yes, I know that's a shock.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Yes, oh yeah, totally floored.
So I guess listening to yourintuition and your gut.
But ambulance, calling 911,taking somebody to an ER or just
like, is it an urgent care typeof situation?
There's no exact science,there's no chart we can give
somebody to say this is what todo.
(39:08):
Obviously, if their oxygen islow, breathing is an issue.
You think they're having aheart attack stroke.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Don't waste.
Don't waste any time If youthink there's a question.
You know we still talk aboutthe golden hour for somebody
who's had a stroke.
If you can get them intotreatment, you know, within an
hour of the initial onset ofsymptoms, the viability of them
recovering is much better thanif you wait a while.
(39:38):
And unfortunately, in Dan'sparticular situation, he just
had, he had a series of ministrokes, so there wasn't one
particular event where you cansay, well, wait a second.
You know this happened at 11o'clock in the morning on
Tuesday.
He unfortunately had a, had aprogressive deterioration in his
cognitive state, so Right andagain filling people in who
(40:01):
aren't aware his symptoms.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
People ask a lot and I actually had somebody say,
well, it's none of anybody'sbusiness, but I don't agree, I
put myself out there, we've beenout there, we've done this
podcast together.
So his symptoms are the bestway to describe them are more
like somebody who has dementia.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Just for people, because they want it out.
So he's up, he's walking, he'stalking, but he doesn't have.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Anybody who is dealing with somebody has
dementia.
Unfortunately, that is probablythe best way to describe Dan at
this time.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Okay, so that just gives an update for my listeners
.
So much and again, I'm justgoing to encourage people in
being prepared, in having yourpaperwork teaching everybody in
that RV how to dial 911.
You have kids sometimes teachthem how to use the.
I'd say teach them how to usethe cell phone, but they
(40:57):
probably are no better than youdo.
But knowing how we practice firedrills, we practice certain
things, it's probably somethingthat could.
It's not probably.
It is something that couldpotentially save somebody's life
.
But knowing how we practicefire drills, we practice certain
things, it's probably somethingthat could.
It's not probably, it issomething that could potentially
save somebody's life.
And again, the kids should knowwhere they are, how to access
information.
Being prepared, havingcompanies like Flying Angels
(41:21):
there are other companies outthere Obviously I'm partial, for
good reason.
I mean 297 five star reviews ofthe recording of this is
impressive, to say the least.
But having the informationwritten down so somebody could
open it up and say, ok, this iswhat I need to do, helps, helps
(41:41):
because it's many times sinceI've dealt with emergency
situations.
You don't it, it's you.
I don't think you're ever fullyprepared for them, you're not
for me.
I go into like I, this is whatI need to do.
There's no emotion.
Same thing with my kids and Ihad a, a child who was 11 months
(42:02):
old.
She had started walking beforeshe was 10 months old, so she
was into everything.
She got into a bottle ofmedicine.
I knew that was an immediateemergency.
I'm on the phone with PoisonControl and they said well, this
could stop her heart.
I am in total control.
I got her in the car, got herto the hospital After she was
(42:22):
fine.
That's when I break down.
But the more prepared, thebetter prepared you are, the
better you can handle thesethings that you hope never
happens.
So, okay, I have a question.
We're going to switch gearshere.
Talk about something a littlemore upbeat.
It's time for the question ofthe week, and you know it's
(42:42):
coming because you listen toevery episode.
I'm a super fan, yes, yes, ofthe week, and you know it's
coming because you listen toevery episode.
I was a fan, yes, yes.
So I'm gonna answer what's onyour bucket list person place
experience.
Before you answer, I want totalk to people.
We are in philadelphia right nowand it is really hot and muggy.
You're now going to be able tosee clips of the podcast
(43:03):
episodes on my YouTube channel.
It's brand new.
Subscribe like comment.
Help me out with that.
The YouTube channel is InspiredTravels with Patty, so you'll
be able to see.
My hair is flat because it isso humid here in Philadelphia
right now.
But Cool RV is this amazing?
(43:25):
It's a game changer.
It's an RV air conditionerupgrade and with CoolRV you get
more airflow and whisper quietand cooler air.
It is an amazing invention.
I had the inventor on the show.
You could hear his story, anincredible story.
So, whether you're off-grid orat a campsite, upgrade your ride
(43:49):
with Cool RV where comfortmeets the road, and you can
check them out at Cool RVK-O-O-L-R-V today, com today.
Okay, so your answer?
Speaker 2 (44:03):
Antarctica.
Really yes.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
Now, I've known this guy for a long time.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
I didn't see that coming.
No, that is.
I have.
I've had the great privilege tobe all over the world.
I have.
I've been to almost 50countries traveling for work,
but the one continent that Ihave not been to is Antarctica.
So, along with quite a numberof our medical team who have
(44:29):
traveled a lot and who have beento Africa and have been to Asia
and have been to India andSouth America and Europe, well,
where's the only place that wehaven't been?
You know, we haven't been toAntarctica, because they don't
have a commercial airport there.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Oh, I was going to say so you can't do a transport
there.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
We can't do a transport to.
Antarctica.
So that's on my bucket list.
Speaker 1 (44:52):
Okay, antarctica Interesting things you learn
when you interview your goodfriend on a podcast.
Okay, it's now time for theFeatured Campground of the Week
and it's brought to you by RVLife and that is a suite of
products that helps you navigatefrom one place to another.
It's RV Safe GPS, and one of myfavorite features is the
(45:16):
campground review site.
And today's campground.
It is in Pennsylvania.
I just thought it would begreat, you know, since we're
about an hour from it,pennsylvania.
I just thought it'd be great,you know, since we're about an
hour from it.
It's Robin Hill RV Resort andCampground in Len Harrisville,
pa.
I don't know if I butcheredthat, but you can look it up.
It is family friendly andthere's so much to do in the
(45:37):
campground and in the beautifulPA Dutch country.
There's so much to do out there.
And even though we're an hourand a half from that area, I
don't think I saw the things andappreciated the things that
area has to offer until I was inan RV.
It's really kind of crazy.
They have 212 sites with fullhookups, they have the dog park
(45:59):
and, if you're like me and don'thave an RV right now, they have
cabin and cottage rentals.
Don't have an RV right now.
They have cabin and cottagerentals.
They have a solid 7.3 on the RVLife Campgrounds app and that's
with 60 reviews Just 60.
Wow.
And you can go tocampgroundsrvlifecom and look up
Robin Hill RV Resort Campgroundand then you can find out
(46:22):
everything about it.
You can read the reviews.
You can find all the photosfrom the area.
I actually stayed in thiscampground and it is absolutely
beautiful.
There's a huge pond and aswimming pool and it's just set
in a country and rustic and Ireally loved it there.
And they have full amenities,full hookups.
They have full amenities, fullhookups.
(46:45):
If you go tocampgroundsrvlifecom, you can,
like I said, check it all out.
Campgroundsrvlifecom is themost comprehensive source for
city, state and nationalcampgrounds public campgrounds,
private campgrounds they have itall.
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And if there is a campgroundthat they don't have, just send
(47:12):
them a message or you could alsoput it up on the site yourself.
Anybody who is not part of theRV Life Pro community you can
get a 25% discount by clickingon the link.
It's so worth it.
And if you're traveling I saythis because I just saw somebody
that said they use Google Mapsto travel in their RV.
Big mistake, big mistake.
So if you're traveling inanything bigger than a minivan,
(47:36):
you need a good RV, safe GPSright, you don't want to find
that low bridge or low tunnel.
Has this happened to you?
Did I not give the?
Speaker 2 (47:45):
story Years ago, when Dan was working out of an RV
and this was probably 30 yearsago he got in some trouble
because he was driving an RV andthey came across a bridge he
couldn't go under.
So he and I actually workedtogether to map out our routes
(48:07):
and again, this is pre-internetdata, so you know, worked out to
make sure that there weren'tany low bridges on the route
that he was taking.
So you know.
Now you know, and again, havinghad two RVs here in
Philadelphia, you know I knowthere's any number of roads I
don't dare take because you knowyou're going to find.
You know that 10-foot tunnel.
You know.
I know there's any number ofroads I don't dare take because
you know you're going to find.
You know that 10-foot tunnel.
(48:28):
You know here in thePhiladelphia metropolitan area
there's some old bridges and youknow the idea of having you
know, I mean I couldn't imaginegoing anywhere without an RV
trip wizard and just knowingthat my route is safe.
Speaker 1 (48:44):
Right and Google Maps just don't know how tall your
RV is, how much it weighs, howlong it is, whether you're
towing something.
So there are roads.
If you're towing or you're toolong, you can't go on a road and
something that happened to usbecause from Philadelphia we go
down to Washington, theBaltimore Tunnel you can't go
through with the big propanetanks.
(49:06):
Now the small.
You can't go through with thebig propane tanks.
Now the small ones that you usefor a barbecue grill are fine,
but we learned that the hard wayand had we gotten stopped that
would have been a big fine.
So again it's the whole suiteof products cost $65 a year.
In the first year you'regetting 25% off.
You can't beat it.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on and just offering so
(49:31):
much great information.
People could go to Facebookpage to Flying Angel to take
questions.
There are people on that cananswer those correct.
They can always call if theyhave questions, if they're in a
situation Sometimes we didn'tmention.
But you transport somebodybecause they're in a hospital,
they need a certain type ofrehab and you'll transport them
(49:52):
to a different rehab or anursing home, those kinds of
things.
Speaker 2 (49:55):
And we also.
We transport people who havedementia.
So it's simple term.
If grandma is in an assistedliving in Florida and the family
want to move her up to New Yorkor Philadelphia and you know
she's just in a memory care unitor has some cognitive
impairments and family scatteredall over the country, you know
(50:15):
they can reach out to us and youknow we will make bedside to
bedside arrangements andtransport her safely where she
needs to go on a commercialairline in a first class seat
with a critical care registeredflight nurse sitting right next
to her.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
And that's something we didn't talk about is the fact
that when you call the phonenumber, when somebody calls the
phone number, there is acoordinator and there's got to
be a shrugger word forcoordinator because they handle
everything there is from bedsideto bedside.
They're handling it.
If you're getting to theairport and you need to be
transported from the airport toa nursing home or to the
(50:51):
family's home, they are handlingthat.
If a flight should get canceled, they are handling it.
So the person trying totransport somebody does not have
to worry about.
They even handle.
If you're going outside thecountry, do you have the right
passport and right paperwork?
You know they have medications.
They make sure that they havefor the patient.
So when I say they handleeverything, they literally
(51:15):
handle everything.
So thank you for again forsharing all of this information
and helping people to beprepared.
Reach out to me if you havequestions.
I will pass them along and getany questions you have answered,
and you could go to my Facebookpage or Instagram and that's
Harvey Life Podcast.
(51:35):
You could go to Flying Angelswebsite or social media.
Flying Angels is on socialmedia, yep we are.
Thank you, and I reallyencourage people ask the
questions now the what if thishappens, what if that?
Ask now, we will answer everymessage that we get right.
Speaker 2 (51:55):
Absolutely Okay.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
I want to thank you, my listeners, and remind you
life's a journey.
Live each day to the fullest,without regrets.
I'm Patty Hunt and you've beenlistening to the fullest without
regrets.
I'm Patti Hunt and you've beenlistening to the RV Life Podcast
.
One minute you are living the RV dream, the next
you're in the ER, far from home.
What you do next is soimportant.
I'm Patti Hunt and you'relistening to the RV Life Podcast
.
Bob, what is it like to helpbring someone home when they're
(00:24):
sick or injured, scared and faraway from loved ones?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Patty.
As a healthcare professionaland a nurse, it is one of the
great joys to be able to helpsomebody in one of the worst
times of their life.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And we are going to hear all about what it takes to
bring somebody home when you'reout traveling, what it takes to
bring somebody home when you'reout traveling.
Even those of us who are fulltimers, as a lot of people know,
I was full time for over threeyears and I always thought of
wherever the RV was that washome.
But in an emergency, you wantto be with family, friends.
You want to be back quoteunquote back home.
(01:01):
So we're going to talk allabout that.
The RV Life podcast was createdto educate, entertain and
explore the RV lifestyle, withthe mission to inspire you to
live life to the fullest.
Today's guest is here to helpus be prepared for the
emergencies that everybody hopes.
They never have happened tothem, but you need to be
(01:22):
prepared for.
He will share his knowledge onhow to prepare for an emergency,
what to do when your loved oneis stable but needs to get back
home or to a different type offacility, as well as what to
consider when looking forinsurance as we RV around the
country.
(01:43):
Open Roads Resort has now sixincredible locations.
They just announced theirnewest location in Cheyenne,
wyoming.
They do have a location inIdaho, nebraska, new Mexico, and
two in Texas and the newestlocation is currently opened and
they are doing some majorupgrades and expanding.
(02:07):
All of these parks are highlyfavored parks by you, the RVer.
On the campgroundsrvlifecomwebsite, check out everything
you need to know about thesecampgrounds on RVlife, on
campgroundsrvlifecom, or go toopenroadresortscom.
Now let's talk about Bob.
(02:29):
Bob Batchelor is the Directorof Nursing Specialty Flight.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Physiologist.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Some of these are going to be difficult.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Certified Flight.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Registered Nurse Certified flight registered
nurse, certified critical careregistered nurse, certified
dementia practitioner andcertified travel health by the
International Society of TravelMedicine.
There are a whole lot ofletters after the name.
Bob has been a critical carenurse for over 30 years and a
(03:01):
flight nurse for over 15 yearsyears and a flight nurse for
over 15 years.
Bob is a passionate advocatefor the professionalism of
flight nursing and specialtycommercial medical escort
services.
Bob has served on the board ofdirectors for the Air and
Surface Transport NursesAssociation, has served as an
(03:24):
adjunct faculty for NewmanUniversity for the critical care
rotation and has contributed tomultiple texts on medical
transport as well as many newsoutlets and magazine.
Bob is currently the managingdirector of Flying Angels, which
has RNs and doctors around theUS and around the world to fly
(03:46):
with people who have medicalneeds on commercial carriers.
That is a mouthful, I think.
That's it.
We're done with the show.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Wow, it sounds like I've been doing this for a while
.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Yes, it does, and I wanted all of these things
pointed out that you do becauseobviously you are incredibly
qualified.
But let's talk a little bitabout you personally.
You actually were an RVer right, I was an RVer.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I have had two class A RVs in my life.
I had a 32-foot gas RV but Ifell in love with diesel pusher
so I had an RV much like yours.
I think it was a 2002 MonacoDynasty.
(04:35):
That boy.
I just love being on the road.
My happy place was being out onthe highway and just rolling
down the road.
It was wonderful.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And you like the actual RV the driving part just
rolling down the road.
It was wonderful.
And you like the actual RV?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
the driving part of it more than the camping right.
I am one of those people thatyou know.
I really think I enjoy being onthe road and driving more than
I enjoy going to the places Iwas going to be at, which is
very much like my current flightcareer that you know.
I love being on the airplane.
I love being a passenger on acommercial airline.
Doesn't really matter where I'mgoing, so maybe it's just
(05:10):
traveling.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Wow.
Now for my listeners that haveheard the podcast before, they
know this story, I want to givea little update.
So my husband, dan, and Istarted full-time RVing four
years ago, like a lot of people.
It was during the pandemic.
What was there to do?
So we decided to selleverything and buy an RV and
(05:32):
travel the road full-time.
And I tell my listeners thatwhen Dan suggested we go
full-time, I laughed because Ithought it was joking because to
that point I had only been inan RV for seven nights.
Well, those seven nights inthat RV was your RV.
So that kind of completes thestory.
(05:52):
So, and I loved it, I don'tknow, I did love the destination
, I think, more than the actualtravel, but I did enjoy those
nights we spent in the RV goingcamping, but there were only
seven nights.
So what did I know about goingfull-time RV?
So, as many of you may suspect,bob and I have actually been
(06:16):
really good friends for 20 years.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Closest best of friends, and so I know I'm
partial closest best of friends,and so I know I'm partial.
But I knew that talking aboutthis topic was so important in
the RV community.
As people will hear, I had myown experience with difficulties
while on the road, and so Iknew that you had to be on the
show.
We had to talk about all theseimportant things, so let's jump
(06:42):
in.
First of all, why did youchoose nursing some 30 years ago
?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Well, it's an interesting story because I had
gone to college 10 years earlier.
I was a serial entrepreneur,which anybody who's an
entrepreneur knows ofteninvolves failure, and I, like
many entrepreneurs, failed atquite a number of the things I
tried.
I decided I was going to have afamily and I realized that if I
(07:07):
was going to have a family, Iwanted to make sure that I had a
backup career, something Icould do in the event that my
entrepreneurship didn't work out.
So I decided to go to nursingschool.
I said, well, that'll be fun.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
So I went to community college, you decided
that it'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
I decided I wasn't doing enough, so let me just do
something else.
So I went to community collegeat Philadelphia for their
associate's degree in nursing.
I did not think I was evergoing to make a career out of it
.
I didn't think it was somethingthat I had this passion to do.
But I wound up getting out ofit and I wound up taking a
(07:46):
position as a trauma nurse inone of the major level one
trauma center ICUs and I said,boy, you know this is an awful
lot of fun and I enjoyed itFriday night in the ER and the
trauma bay.
It was just a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Wait, not only nursing, but trauma, absolutely.
Not only nursing, but trauma Inone of the major trauma ERs in
Philadelphia.
Of all places, this was fun.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yeah, well, you know that's where most of us guys go.
I mean anybody who's a guy innursing not all, but you know,
for a large number we wind upgoing into the trauma, into the
ICU, into the burn units, intothe real adrenaline fields.
That's where I went into.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
And if people want to see what a day in the life
looks like in the trauma ER.
We've been watching the showthe Pit and you said it's really
very realistic.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
I have yet to find anybody who is a clinician who's
watched the Pit, who has reallyany arguments with it.
Spoiler alert you know, aroundthe 19th episode they get a
little wonky, but other thanthat the show is a terrific show
and I'm actually thrilled tosee it come back.
(09:03):
And I'm actually thrilled tosee it come back.
When I was first starting mynursing career, we would go into
the rooms at 10 o'clock on aThursday night and watch ER back
when it was a brand new show.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And was that as realistic, do you think?
I think it was.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
I think it was.
I think the pit adds a newdegree of realism, but for the
most part we were in ER watchingER and saying well, yeah, that
sounds pretty good, the real dayin the life of what an
emergency room nurse goesthrough.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Okay, but today's topic is incredibly important to
me.
Important to me and aftertalking to the RV Life podcast
team our team of four peoplethat sometimes more that we talk
to about good topics and forthe RV community, we knew this
was a good topic.
It is a very personal topic forme, having dealt with a lot of
(09:59):
medical issues with Dan being onthe road, and we'll talk about
that as we go through.
But right now one start withpeople going out, whether
they're full time, whetherthey're part time, whether
they're taking that weekend tripin the car.
There are some things thatpeople need to take with them to
be prepared.
You know, if you're outcampaigning, you have an
(10:21):
emergency.
What type of like?
Let's start with like, basicpaperwork.
What types of things shouldpeople have with them?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Well, as far as paperwork goes, everybody should
have their go-to file.
This is a file that's going tolist all their medical
conditions.
This is going to list all theirinsurance.
This is going to list all theirpoints of contact.
There's an organization calledthe Aging Life Care Association
and what they do is they carefor seniors, and one of the
(10:49):
terrific things that they'vecome up with is just your
GoPacket.
It's a red folder thateverybody should know where it
is and there should be copies ofit.
And in the event that somethinghappens, if you're in an
emergency, if you're in anaccident, if something
catastrophic happens, you're notrooting around saying where's
my insurance, who's my doctor,who are my points of contact,
(11:09):
who are my specialistsEverything in one particular
place and you can just open upand everything you need to know
is in there.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Including medications because I know.
I've gone into the ER, I knowwhat all the medications are,
but in that moment you cannotthink of one name, of one
prescription, and it does makeit more difficult.
Now, in the world, I do lovethe paper folder because you
never know.
But in the world of digital, Ithink having copies digitally as
(11:38):
well is great.
We always have our phones withus.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Having everything on a USB drive is also helpful, but
one of the problems in modernmedicine is and even, I think,
philadelphia, where we are now,you know, there are several
different hospital systems andthey all have terrific medical
record systems.
The problem is, none of themtalk to each other.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
So they're not connected.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So in a lot of times, if one hospital needs to send
information to another hospital,we're dealing with faxes.
I mean most hospitals senddocuments by fax.
It's one of the few still tothis day because faxes are still
considered HIPAA compliant.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
So, you.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
A lot of hospitals can't even email records.
So you're talking about, youknow, taking a document,
printing it out, sending it to afax machine.
Ideally they're going to fax itwith the right side up and
they're going to fax the copy tothe side of the paper that
actually has the information onit, rather than just faxing the
back copy and then you're there.
(12:37):
So you might as well have aclean typed out page, and if you
want to have everything on aUSB 2, usb drive 2, that's
probably also better.
But the important part, havethe information handy.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Right Now for me, all of these documents and again,
having gone through it with Dan,I have a folder on my phone
that has copies of all of thesedocuments as well.
The other thing that I think isimportant for RVers that I
think is important for RVers Iwent through this when you have
to call 911 and you're in thecampground, the things that you
(13:11):
should know and I've said thison episodes before I think
everybody needs a wipe-off typeboard the name of the campground
that you pulled into, the sitenumber you're at and the
emergency number for thecampground.
Because I didn't realize thisbut I was told that at some
campgrounds if an ambulance oremergency is coming, the
(13:33):
campground needs to know to openthe gate.
So that all should be the firstthing you do when you are
setting up your RV and it shouldbe like I said I use a wipe off
board.
You could use a whiteboard,whatever works, you could use a
paper that you slide in,whatever works, but everybody in
the RV should know where thatis and how to dial 911.
(13:58):
I have a friend of mine.
She fell off a chair.
She was hurt.
She had three little kids there.
Her eight I think it was eightor nine knew how to call for an
ambulance.
They were in a campground.
So really everybody should beprepared.
And again, I told you we'retalking about things we hope
never happens.
But the better preparedeverybody is, everybody is, the
(14:20):
better.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
And GPS will be able to take EMS to the campground,
but you know if you're in Site512, they're going to have a
heck of a time.
So this, ideally you know, onceyou have the emergency and you
call 911, hopefully somebody atthe front desk or the reception
can actually guide them intowhere Site 512 is.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
And that's exactly because you know, again, my RV
community.
You know, if you're in ThousandTrails, orlando, looking for a
site, there's over 1,100 sitesthere.
You don't want the ambulance tohave to figure out where to go,
so that's so important.
And again, nobody wants theseunfortunate things to happen.
(15:05):
I know when we think aboutemergencies we think about the
er and all those things.
We're thinking the oldercommunity I hear that all the
time, our fears of the oldercommunity and if they get sick
or for.
But you have a lot ofexperience within your company
of flying younger people younger, so let's talk about that.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Sure, when people are younger, they tend to think
they're invincible.
A lot of the older populationthat we transport are
exacerbations of some of thechronic conditions they have
their lung problems, their heartproblems.
The younger population arepeople who get injured, and boy
(15:46):
I'll tell you what if I'velearned anything in my day.
Being at a campground and beingout in the woods is a place
where you can get injured prettydarn easily.
One of the things that I'mconstantly preaching about is to
make sure that your membershave a medical travel insurance
policy or some policy that willmake sure that covers the
medical expenses if they're outof network, from where their
(16:09):
home base may be and whetherthey're young or old.
Again, if you're older, well,that might be necessary for a
chronic condition.
If you're younger, that may bebecause you tripped on a log or
you had some other accidenttripped on a log or you had some
other accident.
You know, I've had them myself,yeah, and I've transported
(16:31):
plenty of people who have hadaccidents while going out and
hiking or mountain climbing orchopping wood or doing or skiing
.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
You had a case.
The guy was skiing.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
We've done any number of transfers of people on ski.
You know who got injured whileskiing.
Yes, Right.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Okay, so you've touched on travel insurance.
Now I want to break this down.
You are not going to promoteany specific company People have
to do their research but youcan give some tips on what to
look for.
So there's health insurance.
That is something pretty mucheverybody has.
If you don't, health insuranceis important For those of you
(17:08):
that are full-time or travel alot.
Rvers Insurance is a company.
I've had them on the show.
I'll put that information inthe show notes.
They are a company that issupported by RV Life.
I have spoken to them.
I was looking for insurancethrough them.
Everybody from the company I'vecome in contact with was
(17:29):
amazing at helping me figure outwhich insurance would be better
, and the insurance for Dan andhis age, with his medical
conditions, was different fromthe insurance for me.
So there's somebody, like Isaid I'll put that in the show
notes to reach out.
That's the health insurance.
Some of the health insurances,like Independence, blue Cross,
(17:51):
will cover you if you're out innetwork, and that's something
that everybody with theirindividual health insurance
should look into, right?
So if they're from Pennsylvaniaand Florida, what's covered?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
That's something that , if you're going to be on the
road, if you're going to betraveling, you want to make sure
you know what does yourinsurance cover when you're out
of network, Because the co-paysand deductibles outside of
network can be multiples of whatthey are in network and many of
us have high deductible planswhere you know you need to spend
$5,000 before the insurancewill kick in.
(18:25):
Well, if you're out of network,that could be $20,000, $25,000.
That can be very significant.
So these are things that youdon't want to wait until you
need before you actually go outand figure out what insurance
you have or what your insurancewill cover.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Right, and I think there's a couple of ways.
Calling the insurance company,health insurance company you
have, checking with them what'scovered.
Reading a fine print oninsurance is daunting at best,
but you have to know, you haveto find out.
Do not I'm going to act like ateacher.
Do not post this on Facebookand expect to get a good answer.
(19:04):
You have to do the research.
Look at your insurance company.
For those of us who arefull-time like being full-time
we made sure our insurance willcover us pretty much wherever we
were.
Again, depending on the policythat we picked.
There is the fine print andthose kinds of things.
Now, is it also true that ifyou have an emergency and you're
(19:25):
out of state that kind of yougo to an ER?
Right, you don't question?
So can you talk a little bitabout?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You are going to go to your local ER and they're
going to treat you there.
Your insurance, your generalmedical insurance, will most
likely not pay to repatriate orsend you back to wherever your
home base is, so you want tomake sure that you have specific
insurance that would get youback home in the event that you
(19:53):
need that.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Okay, so two things here.
If I have health insurance inPennsylvania, I go to Florida, I
have an emergency, Some healthinsurance will cover that.
They'll cover the emergency.
That is correct and that's whatthey deem an emergency.
Not necessarily They'll coverthe emergency that is correct
and that's what they deem anemergency, not necessarily what
you deem an emergency.
Some insurance companies, againjust trying to give as much
information, will say you shouldhave gone to urgent care as
(20:15):
opposed to an ER.
So find out Now you're talkingabout get to the emergency room.
You have an issue and we'regoing to talk about a couple of
situations with Dan, becausethis is very specific.
I called Bob two and a halfyears ago and said Dan had COVID
.
A lot of people don't know this.
He had gotten so bad that I hadto call an ambulance and he was
(20:40):
taken to a hospital and at thatpoint, honestly, we weren't
sure if he was going to survive,and so it's hard to talk about.
But there you were.
The next day you flew out.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Sorry, not everybody has a bomb.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
But you flew out and stayed with me for three, five
plus days.
He was in the ICU.
At that point you're notworried about insurance or any
of that.
I mean honestly it truly anemergency, calling an ambulance
when you're in that situation,remembering the site you're in,
(21:15):
even just remembering your ownname in that kind of situation.
So he was taken to the hospitaland having I guess one of the
points here is yes, theinsurance, yes, the information,
what medicine?
What are the medical conditions?
But having those people thatare supportive because as strong
as I am in emergency situationsand I think I'm really good at
(21:37):
emergency situations there'slimits to it.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
So there's limits for everybody even even those of us
who are professionals, who havespent years in trauma.
You know when I would take oneof my children to the ER when
they were injured.
You know, boy, I just was notnearly as calm and quiet and as
collected.
You know when it was mydaughter there in the hospital
(22:01):
bed, you know that raises anentirely different frame of
reference for you.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
And you really.
And the point, the big pointhere is we could talk about all
the details and all thepaperwork, but having that
support, you need the support.
You need to be able to callsomebody and cry, and literally
that's what I did.
I'm not sure there were wordsthat came out.
I think I got the point across,but you know, at some point you
(22:26):
need that.
So having people that you knowcan support you in an emergency
situation when it comes toinsurance and those kinds of
situations you're not thinkingabout that at the time, you know
, and the hospital will come invery quickly after your loved
one is brought into the hospitalto talk about insurance, and
(22:47):
they want those cards of thatinformation.
For sure, that's notnecessarily the focus, but now.
So Dan was in the hospital.
In that situation I ended uphaving to bring him back to the
RV and he hadn't been out of bedin 17 days, so he could barely
walk.
He wanted, after 17 days, toget out of the hospital and I
(23:11):
had to put my foot down becausehe couldn't walk to get into the
RV, and so you know that was asafety concern.
So I demanded that the hospitalkeep him there until he was
able to walk so I could get himinto the RV and all of that that
needs to be set up when you'rein an RV.
He was on oxygen, so havingoxygen, making sure you're
(23:35):
somewhere, that you're plumpedin, not running on battery.
So these are all things, and wecould go into all these little
details.
The point is to have somebodythat's supportive to you, know,
be aware of certain things thatyou're going to be able to do on
your own and some things thatyou're just going to need help.
Now Dan got ill again a littleover a year ago, and this was
(23:59):
out of my expertise.
This was out of what I canhandle.
My expertise, this was out ofwhat I could handle, and so, for
those people who know, it wasover a year ago now and he had
had a number of strokes that weweren't even aware of Again.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
I called you.
You have me on speed dial atthis point.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I absolutely did and I was like I just don't know
what to do at this point.
I knew I could keep taking careof him, and so you know.
You said what do we need to do?
Now I am and I will continue tosay incredibly grateful that I
did not just get on a plane withhim and fly him back.
He worsened after we got backhere, but that would not have
(24:46):
been a good thing.
So when I called you, you saidwhat do you want to do?
Like, I'll come down, I'll flyyou back.
We ended up packing up thewhole RV and you drove us back.
The question is how do peoplemake that decision?
I know there are people thatget on a plane, fly their loved
one back Not necessarily thesafest thing.
(25:07):
How do you?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Well, as you identified earlier, you want to
be around family, you want to bewhere your support structure is
.
So, in your particular case,your support structure was here
in Philadelphia.
Your children were here inPhiladelphia and Dan my pop was
here.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Let's just get real.
Your children were here inPhiladelphia, and Dan and Bob
was here.
Let's just get real, you werehere.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
And Dan grew up in the Philadelphia area and that's
how Dan and I had becomefriends many, many years ago.
So the question is how do youwant to get back?
You need to get back to whereyour support structure is, which
is what you decided that youwanted to do, and there's any
(25:49):
number of ways of doing that.
Now, the company that I managewe have doctors and nurses as
Patty introduced who accompanypeople on the commercial
airlines.
So you know that was one of theconsiderations to send one of
our nurses down, pick you andDan up and then fly you back on
a commercial airline.
And you know, we have themedical monitoring equipment, we
have the oxygen equipment, sowe could have done that safely.
(26:11):
The concern was that you had allyour stuff in it.
We knew, you know, that whenthis happened you were going to
want to have your stuff backhere in Philadelphia and you
were going to live, you weregoing to come back to
Philadelphia for an extendedperiod of time because this is
where your children were.
So in that particular case, yes, we flew down and you had your
(26:33):
stuff loaded up in the U-Haul,so we just drove.
We just drove back that way.
But you know, normally I wouldhave just recommended that we
send one of our team down, youknow, get Dan, and then we have.
We have a go to guy named Doug,who was a terrific flight nurse
, been with us for you know,since day one, and you know he
(26:56):
would he would have gotten youback?
Yes, absolutely.
Now the problem there was allyour stuff and your RV would
have been in Florida, but we gotyour stuff back and your RV was
there for a while anyway.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Right, right.
And so just to clarify things,I'd like to make sure people are
following Going back on anairplane with a commercial
flight and I've been with you atsome of your conferences
commercial flight, americanAirlines, united commercial
flight, which makes it way moreaffordable for somebody.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Well, that's the.
You know, that's our nichemarket.
Everybody's familiar with theair ambulance companies, the
private Lear jets that transportpeople around, and that's one
way to go, but in many casesthis is an out-of-pocket expense
for people.
So it's a fraction of the costto fly somebody on a commercial
airline with a flight nurse thanit is to put them on their
(27:52):
ambulance.
A lot of people don't know ourservice is even an option and
again, the problem is whensomebody is in a crisis
situation, they may not havedays and weeks to research just
to see what are all the optionsout there.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Right, and again I'm going to say this is we're
talking about flying angels.
You can go to flyingangelscomand we're going to talk more
about that.
I do have to take a quick break.
Well, we talked a lot so far.
This is, and this is veryimportant to both of us If
you're looking for an RV, whenyou're an RVer, you want to know
(28:26):
that somebody's with you everystep of the way, just like if
you have a medical issue.
So if you're looking for salesor service, blue Compass RV is
the company.
There.
Locations coast to coast, morethan 15,000 new and used RVs and
(28:48):
over a thousand service bays,with more certified RV
technicians than any otherdealer.
Blue Compass is with you today,tomorrow and the road ahead.
Visit your local Blue CompassRV dealer or go to
bluecompassrvcom today, and sofor those of you who are still
excited about the RV, you knowworld, the good does outweigh
(29:09):
the bad.
Blue Compass is a great way togo, so let's continue on that.
I'm going to go back into thislike in a progression.
Dan did go to the hospital atthis point, but he but yes, I
wanted to come back, quote,unquote home, and I'm going to
reiterate I would say all thetime home was where the RV was
(29:31):
until you had that majoremergency and I wanted to be
with family and friends, and sowe made the decision that it was
safe to bring him back.
Obviously, bring our stuff backIf you had thought, hey, we
need to get him back quickly, aflight would be the better way
to go For people.
How did they make that choice?
(29:52):
Do I get on an airplane withthem?
I've heard stories where acouple one of them was very ill
the insurance company bookedtheir flight, put them on a
flight.
There was nobody with them andthe person said that the flight
got canceled.
They called this insurancecompany I'm not going to mention
names and the insurance companysaid that is a airline issue,
(30:15):
that's not our issue.
And here he was.
I think it was the guy who wasthere with his ill wife.
That is not a situation youwant to be in.
But how do people determine?
Do I need an escort?
So there are people that willescort somebody back that does
not have medical background, acompany like Flying Angels that
(30:37):
does have highly qualified,certified nurses, or I can get
on the airplane myself.
How does somebody determinethat?
Speaker 2 (30:46):
The vast majority of people that we're transporting
are in the hospital system andthey've had their stroke or
they've had their heart attackor they've had their injury and
all of a sudden they're in theER, and that's where the
decision is being made what isbest for the patient.
It's not terribly common for usto be dealing with people in
(31:09):
their own RVs saying, well,we're not quite sure, what do we
want to do?
Do we want to go home?
Do we want to drive home?
Do we want to fly home?
Do we want somebody to bring ushome?
For the most part, we'retalking about those people who
have had the injury, who havehad the health problem and are
in serious condition at thispoint.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Okay, so it's an easier decision.
Now, truth be told, sometimesthe hospitals aren't giving you
the best, and I know we're nothere to bash anybody or say
anything, I'm going to talkabout my own personal experience
.
Some 17 years ago my father hadhad a major heart attack, a
hole in his heart that waspatched.
(31:53):
He was at Einstein Hospital,one of the top hospitals in
Philadelphia, and they want tofly him to the Cleveland Clinic
and the insurance companyrefused to send him by ambulance
, which is what the doctor wasrecommending Absolutely.
And yeah, yeah, he was on allkinds of medicine, I mean.
So, for people who don't know,when you have a hole in the
(32:14):
middle of your heart, you'reoxygenated and non-oxygenated
blood or mixing, and then youdie.
Right, you could.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It's not a good situation?
Speaker 1 (32:24):
No, not by any stretch.
Okay, I'm just making sure I'mnot being overdramatic.
If we had known about yourcompany and I guess it was
longer than 17 years ago well,if we had known about your
company, that would have been abetter option.
I'm not even sure that youwould have agreed.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
You know, given your father's condition and the way
it's been described to me, youknow I might have just said
you're better off with an airambulance company.
You know this is one of thethings that people call us and
you know doctors will call us,hospitals call us and say, hey,
is this somebody who you knowmeets the criteria to fly on a
commercial airline?
And if it's not safe, we're notgoing to do it.
(33:04):
So we'll just say, look, youneed an air ambulance.
And the problem there is airambulance is expensive and you
know people are spending tens ofthousands of dollars, you know,
for an air ambulance service.
But if you need it, that's whatyou need, you know there's no
cheap way to do it.
What our service is for thosepeople who don't necessarily
(33:25):
need that ICU level of care, youknow, but do need a medical
attention to flight.
That's kind of where we come in.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
OK, and we're talking about RVers.
We're talking about people who,for the most part, need to be
transported within the country,but you transport pretty much
anywhere, from anywhere toanywhere.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
We fly all over, all over the globe.
You know, antarctica, haiti andmaybe a few countries that end
in stand are places we're notgoing to right now, but China,
india, africa we're flyingpeople all over the world.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Okay, and so I'm going to be transparent and say
we're a little partial here.
I'm going to be transparent andsay we're a little partial here
If anybody has this issue orjust wants to make sure.
Again, knowing how to preparefor an emergency is the most
important thing, so knowing thatthis company exists.
If you don't want to listen toanything, we just said I went
(34:18):
through there so you could go toFlying Angels Philadelphia,
google it.
There are over 295 five-starreviews.
I just double-checked it'salmost 300 five-star reviews and
I the other day, preparing forthis episode, went through a few
(34:40):
after I've realized like 30minutes had gone by.
But some of the most touching,touching, heartfelt thank yous
and I can't tell you how manytimes they've called a nurse
like Doug an angel, audrey andyour other nurses, and that is
what you want to listen to.
You want to look at, check outthose reviews, get people's
(35:02):
honest opinions, because whenyou need this, then you want to
again be prepared.
So you know make sure that'spart of your emergency
information that Flying Angelsis a company that's there to
transport you should you need it.
A couple other questions.
First of all, before I go to myquestions, is there something
(35:23):
else that you want to add herethat I might be missing.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
No, you've actually done a terrific job of covering
the highlights you know.
Just to clarify, dan and I havebeen friends for coming up on
almost 40 years now, so you knowit was good to be able to help.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Dan out in this time of need.
To be able to help Dan out inthis time of need.
Yeah, it was a difficultsituation and I think I'm just
going to say sometimes in thosedifficult situations, you know
who the people are and you knowwhether you're on the road by
yourself and you just want toget away from your family and
friends.
At the end of the day, that'swho's going to be there and
(36:03):
hopefully nobody ever needsanything we talked about.
Nobody ever needs this.
You're RVing, you're traveling,you're enjoying life.
It's just nice to be prepared,right?
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Well, as you said, it's necessary to be prepared.
Just as you want to be preparedfor that mechanical breakdown
that you hope never happens, youwant to be prepared for that
mechanical breakdown that youhope never happens.
You want to be prepared forthat medical breakdown, if
something ever happens.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Right, right, so I did.
You also were on the showbefore.
I'm going to put that in theshow notes because we also
talked about medical kit, firstday kit, because there are times
you have to handle stuffyourself.
And what do I need in a medicalkit?
And again, it doesn't matter ifyou're just going for a weekend
.
There are certain things youshould be prepared for,
(36:50):
especially if you have kids,right absolutely kids are just
so unpredictable kids areaccidents.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Just what ready you know they're gonna happen as any
, I, I've had three kids of myown, you know well, you just
deal with it, oh yeah, oh yeah,me too, and I've been to yours
more times that I want to count.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
And so again just to recap in an emergency there's a
quick decision, whether you call911 or drive somebody to an
emergency room.
How do you, can you justquickly like that's a tough?
Speaker 2 (37:25):
one Again.
That's that crisis decision.
The faster you get somebody toan ER, the better off they are.
And you know the question thatyou have to make is can you get
somebody to treatment, or canyou get them to an ER faster
yourself than if you went andgot an ambulance to go get them
(37:48):
there?
So if you feel like you can getsomebody to a hospital in 10
minutes, you're probably betteroff just getting them to the
hospital than you know waitingthe 20, 30, 40 minutes it might
take for the ambulance to getthere and then start driving
back to the hospital.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
Right, and that is also obviously dependent.
So with Dan, when he had COVID,his oxygen level was 69.
Like even now saying that isjust mind-boggling.
The ambulance being there andthem starting him on oxygen was
(38:24):
a better decision.
Could I have gotten him to theER quicker, Maybe, but it was a
better decision to have themthere.
And maybe people will say whydid you wait?
He's a man, that's all I'mgoing to say is he is a man.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Dan is stubborn.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Really.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
Yes, I know that's a shock.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Yes, oh yeah, totally floored.
So I guess listening to yourintuition and your gut.
But ambulance, calling 911,taking somebody to an ER or just
like, is it an urgent care typeof situation?
There's no exact science,there's no chart we can give
somebody to say this is what todo.
(39:08):
Obviously, if their oxygen islow, breathing is an issue.
You think they're having aheart attack stroke.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Don't waste.
Don't waste any time If youthink there's a question.
You know we still talk aboutthe golden hour for somebody
who's had a stroke.
If you can get them intotreatment, you know, within an
hour of the initial onset ofsymptoms, the viability of them
recovering is much better thanif you wait a while.
(39:38):
And unfortunately, in Dan'sparticular situation, he just
had, he had a series of ministrokes, so there wasn't one
particular event where you cansay, well, wait a second.
You know this happened at 11o'clock in the morning on
Tuesday.
He unfortunately had a, had aprogressive deterioration in his
cognitive state, so Right andagain filling people in who
(40:01):
aren't aware his symptoms.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
People ask a lot and I actually had somebody say,
well, it's none of anybody'sbusiness, but I don't agree, I
put myself out there, we've beenout there, we've done this
podcast together.
So his symptoms are the bestway to describe them are more
like somebody who has dementia.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Just for people, because they want it out.
So he's up, he's walking, he'stalking, but he doesn't have.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Anybody who is dealing with somebody has
dementia.
Unfortunately, that is probablythe best way to describe Dan at
this time.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
Okay, so that just gives an update for my listeners
.
So much and again, I'm justgoing to encourage people in
being prepared, in having yourpaperwork teaching everybody in
that RV how to dial 911.
You have kids sometimes teachthem how to use the.
I'd say teach them how to usethe cell phone, but they
(40:57):
probably are no better than youdo.
But knowing how we practice firedrills, we practice certain
things, it's probably somethingthat could.
It's not probably.
It is something that couldpotentially save somebody's life
.
But knowing how we practicefire drills, we practice certain
things, it's probably somethingthat could.
It's not probably, it issomething that could potentially
save somebody's life.
And again, the kids should knowwhere they are, how to access
information.
Being prepared, havingcompanies like Flying Angels
(41:21):
there are other companies outthere Obviously I'm partial, for
good reason.
I mean 297 five star reviews ofthe recording of this is
impressive, to say the least.
But having the informationwritten down so somebody could
open it up and say, ok, this iswhat I need to do, helps, helps
(41:41):
because it's many times sinceI've dealt with emergency
situations.
You don't it, it's you.
I don't think you're ever fullyprepared for them, you're not
for me.
I go into like I, this is whatI need to do.
There's no emotion.
Same thing with my kids and Ihad a, a child who was 11 months
(42:02):
old.
She had started walking beforeshe was 10 months old, so she
was into everything.
She got into a bottle ofmedicine.
I knew that was an immediateemergency.
I'm on the phone with PoisonControl and they said well, this
could stop her heart.
I am in total control.
I got her in the car, got herto the hospital After she was
(42:22):
fine.
That's when I break down.
But the more prepared, thebetter prepared you are, the
better you can handle thesethings that you hope never
happens.
So, okay, I have a question.
We're going to switch gearshere.
Talk about something a littlemore upbeat.
It's time for the question ofthe week, and you know it's
(42:42):
coming because you listen toevery episode.
I'm a super fan, yes, yes, ofthe week, and you know it's
coming because you listen toevery episode.
I was a fan, yes, yes.
So I'm gonna answer what's onyour bucket list person place
experience.
Before you answer, I want totalk to people.
We are in philadelphia right nowand it is really hot and muggy.
You're now going to be able tosee clips of the podcast
(43:03):
episodes on my YouTube channel.
It's brand new.
Subscribe like comment.
Help me out with that.
The YouTube channel is InspiredTravels with Patty, so you'll
be able to see.
My hair is flat because it isso humid here in Philadelphia
right now.
But Cool RV is this amazing?
(43:25):
It's a game changer.
It's an RV air conditionerupgrade and with CoolRV you get
more airflow and whisper quietand cooler air.
It is an amazing invention.
I had the inventor on the show.
You could hear his story, anincredible story.
So, whether you're off-grid orat a campsite, upgrade your ride
(43:49):
with Cool RV where comfortmeets the road, and you can
check them out at Cool RVK-O-O-L-R-V today, com today.
Okay, so your answer?
Speaker 2 (44:03):
Antarctica.
Really yes.
Speaker 1 (44:07):
Now, I've known this guy for a long time.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
I didn't see that coming.
No, that is.
I have.
I've had the great privilege tobe all over the world.
I have.
I've been to almost 50countries traveling for work,
but the one continent that Ihave not been to is Antarctica.
So, along with quite a numberof our medical team who have
(44:29):
traveled a lot and who have beento Africa and have been to Asia
and have been to India andSouth America and Europe, well,
where's the only place that wehaven't been?
You know, we haven't been toAntarctica, because they don't
have a commercial airport there.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
Oh, I was going to say so you can't do a transport
there.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
We can't do a transport to.
Antarctica.
So that's on my bucket list.
Speaker 1 (44:52):
Okay, antarctica Interesting things you learn
when you interview your goodfriend on a podcast.
Okay, it's now time for theFeatured Campground of the Week
and it's brought to you by RVLife and that is a suite of
products that helps you navigatefrom one place to another.
It's RV Safe GPS, and one of myfavorite features is the
(45:16):
campground review site.
And today's campground.
It is in Pennsylvania.
I just thought it would begreat, you know, since we're
about an hour from it,pennsylvania.
I just thought it'd be great,you know, since we're about an
hour from it.
It's Robin Hill RV Resort andCampground in Len Harrisville,
pa.
I don't know if I butcheredthat, but you can look it up.
It is family friendly andthere's so much to do in the
(45:37):
campground and in the beautifulPA Dutch country.
There's so much to do out there.
And even though we're an hourand a half from that area, I
don't think I saw the things andappreciated the things that
area has to offer until I was inan RV.
It's really kind of crazy.
They have 212 sites with fullhookups, they have the dog park
(45:59):
and, if you're like me and don'thave an RV right now, they have
cabin and cottage rentals.
Don't have an RV right now.
They have cabin and cottagerentals.
They have a solid 7.3 on the RVLife Campgrounds app and that's
with 60 reviews Just 60.
Wow.
And you can go tocampgroundsrvlifecom and look up
Robin Hill RV Resort Campgroundand then you can find out
(46:22):
everything about it.
You can read the reviews.
You can find all the photosfrom the area.
I actually stayed in thiscampground and it is absolutely
beautiful.
There's a huge pond and aswimming pool and it's just set
in a country and rustic and Ireally loved it there.
And they have full amenities,full hookups.
They have full amenities, fullhookups.
(46:45):
If you go tocampgroundsrvlifecom, you can,
like I said, check it all out.
Campgroundsrvlifecom is themost comprehensive source for
city, state and nationalcampgrounds public campgrounds,
private campgrounds they have itall.
They have it all.
And if there is a campgroundthat they don't have, just send
(47:12):
them a message or you could alsoput it up on the site yourself.
Anybody who is not part of theRV Life Pro community you can
get a 25% discount by clickingon the link.
It's so worth it.
And if you're traveling I saythis because I just saw somebody
that said they use Google Mapsto travel in their RV.
Big mistake, big mistake.
So if you're traveling inanything bigger than a minivan,
(47:36):
you need a good RV, safe GPSright, you don't want to find
that low bridge or low tunnel.
Has this happened to you?
Did I not give the?
Speaker 2 (47:45):
story Years ago, when Dan was working out of an RV
and this was probably 30 yearsago he got in some trouble
because he was driving an RV andthey came across a bridge he
couldn't go under.
So he and I actually workedtogether to map out our routes
(48:07):
and again, this is pre-internetdata, so you know, worked out to
make sure that there weren'tany low bridges on the route
that he was taking.
So you know.
Now you know, and again, havinghad two RVs here in
Philadelphia, you know I knowthere's any number of roads I
don't dare take because you knowyou're going to find.
You know that 10-foot tunnel.
You know.
I know there's any number ofroads I don't dare take because
you know you're going to find.
You know that 10-foot tunnel.
(48:28):
You know here in thePhiladelphia metropolitan area
there's some old bridges and youknow the idea of having you
know, I mean I couldn't imaginegoing anywhere without an RV
trip wizard and just knowingthat my route is safe.
Speaker 1 (48:44):
Right and Google Maps just don't know how tall your
RV is, how much it weighs, howlong it is, whether you're
towing something.
So there are roads.
If you're towing or you're toolong, you can't go on a road and
something that happened to usbecause from Philadelphia we go
down to Washington, theBaltimore Tunnel you can't go
through with the big propanetanks.
(49:06):
Now the small.
You can't go through with thebig propane tanks.
Now the small ones that you usefor a barbecue grill are fine,
but we learned that the hard wayand had we gotten stopped that
would have been a big fine.
So again it's the whole suiteof products cost $65 a year.
In the first year you'regetting 25% off.
You can't beat it.
Well, thank you so much forbeing on and just offering so
(49:31):
much great information.
People could go to Facebookpage to Flying Angel to take
questions.
There are people on that cananswer those correct.
They can always call if theyhave questions, if they're in a
situation Sometimes we didn'tmention.
But you transport somebodybecause they're in a hospital,
they need a certain type ofrehab and you'll transport them
(49:52):
to a different rehab or anursing home, those kinds of
things.
Speaker 2 (49:55):
And we also.
We transport people who havedementia.
So it's simple term.
If grandma is in an assistedliving in Florida and the family
want to move her up to New Yorkor Philadelphia and you know
she's just in a memory care unitor has some cognitive
impairments and family scatteredall over the country, you know
(50:15):
they can reach out to us and youknow we will make bedside to
bedside arrangements andtransport her safely where she
needs to go on a commercialairline in a first class seat
with a critical care registeredflight nurse sitting right next
to her.
Speaker 1 (50:29):
And that's something we didn't talk about is the fact
that when you call the phonenumber, when somebody calls the
phone number, there is acoordinator and there's got to
be a shrugger word forcoordinator because they handle
everything there is from bedsideto bedside.
They're handling it.
If you're getting to theairport and you need to be
transported from the airport toa nursing home or to the
(50:51):
family's home, they are handlingthat.
If a flight should get canceled, they are handling it.
So the person trying totransport somebody does not have
to worry about.
They even handle.
If you're going outside thecountry, do you have the right
passport and right paperwork?
You know they have medications.
They make sure that they havefor the patient.
So when I say they handleeverything, they literally
(51:15):
handle everything.
So thank you for again forsharing all of this information
and helping people to beprepared.
Reach out to me if you havequestions.
I will pass them along and getany questions you have answered,
and you could go to my Facebookpage or Instagram and that's
Harvey Life Podcast.
(51:35):
You could go to Flying Angelswebsite or social media.
Flying Angels is on socialmedia, yep we are.
Thank you, and I reallyencourage people ask the
questions now the what if thishappens, what if that?
Ask now, we will answer everymessage that we get right.
Speaker 2 (51:55):
Absolutely Okay.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
I want to thank you, my listeners, and remind you
life's a journey.
Live each day to the fullest,without regrets.
I'm Patty Hunt and you've beenlistening to the fullest without
regrets.
I'm Patti Hunt and you've beenlistening to the RV Life Podcast
.
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