Site seeing in San Francisco

January 1-6, 2008 

A summary of the Twenty-five days that we spent in Palo Alto and the surrounding areas in California.

On Tuesday, January the first, Lora, Meadow, and I were on a plane flying to San Francisco, and on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Meadow was given several different tests.

She had to stay overnight on Friday because her blood pressure bottomed out during that test.

We spent many weekends sightseeing, one weekend we rode to San Francisco, where we walked part of the way across the Golden Gate Bridge, we walked in Muir Woods National Park and ate Lunch at Bubba Gumps on Pier 39, and we traveled along the coast on hwy CA-1 to Half-Moon Bay. 

On Monday, January 7, Meadow has her first doctor's appointment with Dr. Gary Steinberg and her first surgery was scheduled for Tuesday, January 8, and she will have to stay in the hospital until Friday.

The weekend after Meadow’s first surgery we went to Hollow Park Zoo, and to Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Meadow’s last surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, January 15, and she will have stayed in the hospital until Friday, January 17.

One weekend we visited the San Francisco Zoo, The Pacific Ocean Coast, and Parents Helping Parents. 

Meadow’s last doctor’s appointment is on Wednesday, January 23, and if Doctor Steinberg gives us the okay, we will be traveling home on Friday, January 25.

Meadow will have to return in six months to make sure that the grafts have been taken.

Day 1: January 1, Tuesday 2008 

We are beginning the new year in a jet flying from Nashville, Tennessee to Palo, Alto, California, where Meadow will have surgery on the right and left side of her head to repair her carotid arteries.

Hubby was driving us to the Nashville Airport, so we were both up at 1:30 A.M., we both took a shower and dressed. 

We loaded my luggage into our Yellow VUE and went to pick up, Lora and Meadow. 

Marcus, Marcus, Jr., & JR (Marcus’s Nephew), and JR’s girlfriend were still sitting in the living room at 1:30 A.M. watching television.  

I dressed Meadow in a one-piece suit after Lora put Meadow's medicine in her G-Tube.

We loaded all of Lora’s luggage into our VUE.

We arrived at the Nashville Airport at 4:30 A.M. Hubby helped us unload the luggage, and we said goodbye. 

At the ticket counter, we checked our bags and received our e-tickets. 

We went to the restroom to change Meadow’s diaper before we stood in line at security. 

We had to remove our shoes and our watches, the computer had to be taken out of the carrying case, and all our carry-on luggage had to be placed on the conveyor to be scanned.

Meadow was pushed, in her wheelchair, through security and the guard brought out a wand to scan Meadow’s wheelchair for bombs and drugs. 

After passing inspection, we again loaded the wheelchair down with all our carrying-on baggage and started walking towards the gate area. We will be flying out of Nashville to Denver on Flight F 9239.

We were among the small children and disabled people that entered the plane first. 

We are seated near the front of the plane in seats 20 A, B, and C.

All our carry-on baggage had to be stored in the compartment above our heads. 

Flying over Snowcapped Rocky Mountains near Denver Colorado

We slept most of the way on our flight to Denver, Colorado. 

I went twice to the restroom during our flight and on one of those trips, my foot got tangled in the straps of Meadow’s diaper bag. 

Lora was still asleep, I had to wake her up, so she could help me untangle my foot.

Our flight from Nashville was delayed, we had to wait for another plane to taxi off and they were late on their takeoff, causing our flight to be late which in turn caused us to be late for our connecting flight in Denver.

During our final descent into the Denver Airport, the stewardess said over the intercom,  please if you do not have a connecting flight, stay in your seats.

Since we were in front of the plane, and we had a connecting flight, we were the first to leave. 

I took Meadow out of her car seat, rushed up the walkway, carrying her in my arms, and walked to the ticket counter for our connecting flight. 

The person at the ticket counter said, we have given your seats to someone else since the doors had not been closed for the flight's competition, we will have to ask the people, whom we have given your seats, to get off the airplane. 

Lora had to stay behind to wait for Meadow’s wheelchair & our luggage to be brought up from the bottom of the plane and transferred to our connecting plane before she could board the plane with us.

We were flying with Frontier Airlines and the plane we are now flying on has a porcupine on the wings and tail. 

I sat in the aisle seat, Meadow sat in the middle seat, and Lora next to the window.

During the flight, we were served a drink and a small package of cookies. Meadow slept during most of the flight.

We saw the snow-capped foggy Rocky Mountains from the airplane where the landscape looked like chocolate-swirled ice cream.

Lora was sitting next to the window, so she was the one who took several pictures of the snowy mountain range.

I tried to watch “A Harry Potter Movie” but I kept falling asleep. 

We were the last to leave the plane when we landed at San Francisco Airport because we had to wait for Meadow’s wheelchair to be brought up from the bottom of the airplane. 

The flight attendant and pilots were very helpful in helping us get into the wheelchair and helping us get all our carry-on luggage out of the airplane. 

We walked to baggage claim, found a cart, loaded our luggage onto the cart, and took the shuttle to the rental car area.

We got off the shuttle at the basement of the airport, which was not the area for the rental cars.

We met a woman who worked at the airport and we asked for directions for the rental cars.

She said the directions I am about to give you are the direction that I take to cut down walking time and she said you can go this way. Signs are put up to discourage people who are flying in and out of the airport and this helps workers in getting around.

She said, that we would come to an area, that has a sign that read, this is a security area. 

She said, that we could go through the area, which we did, it took us to the area in the airport where we could take the shuttle to the Dollar Car Rental area.

Lora had rented a PT Cruiser, we loaded the car with all our luggage, buckled Meadow into her car seat and Lora drove us down Highway 101 to Palo Alto, California. 

We arrived at the RMH on Sand Hill Road just before 3:00 P.M., which was when the office closed. 

The woman working in the front office checked us in, then she gave us a copy of the rules, and we showed around and were given two keycards to our room.

I pushed Meadow to our room M213, while Lora parked the PT Cruiser in the garage, which was under the RMH building.

After parking, the PT Cruiser Lora loaded our luggage on a cart and pulled it upstairs to our room, where we unloaded it.

Meadow and I went back downstairs with Lora to return the cart.

We rode to McDonald's for lunch, where I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, Lora ordered a Fish Sandwich, and Meadow some chicken nuggets. 

We rode back to RMH where we rested for a couple of hours.

Pasta, a large salad, and several sweets had been prepared and brought to the RMH to be served for supper which Lora and I ate.

After supper we rode to Safe Way Grocery Store, to buy Meadow some Pedi-light, and some snacks. 

Then we rode to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, to check it out, this is where Meadow will have her surgery.

It had been a long day, so we rode back to RMH and went to bed.

Day 2: January 2, Wednesday 2008

It is day two, and Meadow was awake at 6 A.M. Alabama time not California time which is 4A.M.

It was just a little too early to be getting up, but Meadow did not know the difference and she played for two hours.

Meadow will be having an MRI today, she can only clear liquids, so she is fed only apple juice.

Meadow after MRI

Lora and I both ate oatmeal with canned fruit for breakfast.

Meadow was crying because she wanted her Pedi Sure, which she could have after her MRI at 2:30 P.M.

We left Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at 6:30 P.M. stopping at Walmart for a package of tea, and a box of cookies. 

We stopped at Jack-in-Box to purchase a large unsweetened tea, most of the employees that worked at Jack-in-the-box spoke Spanish and they did not under our Southern slang.  

Lora said repeatedly I would like to order a large unsweetened tea finally I said you know a large drink like coke. They were still laughing as we drove away. Lora rode to Taco Bell where she ordered an unsweetened tea and a sandwich. Ironic they all spoke English.

We rode back to the RMH where we ate supper, watched some TV, and were in bed around 12:00 P.M. 

Day 3: January 3, Thursday 2008 

Again Meadow woke up early, she was up at 6:00a.m. and her diaper was soaking wet. I change her and put her back to bed with us. 

Both of Meadow’s eyes were very red because she was allergic to the tape that the Anesthesiologist used to put over her eyes when he put her to sleep for the MRI test.

They put an IV into Meadows' arm for the MRI test, and she will be having another test tomorrow, so they left the IV needle in her arm.

They covered the IV with Coban so Meadow would not pull it out, but she is bitting at the Coban with her teeth trying to remove it.

Meadow trying to remove the Coban with her teeth.

Lora and I both got up, took a shower, dressed, and walked downstairs for breakfast. 

Again, Meadow could only have clear liquids, so she was fed a can of chicken broth.

Both Lora and I ate a bowl of Kasha Cereals for breakfast and after breakfast, we rode over to Save A Lot Grocery Store, where Lora bought some diaper wipes.

Meadow was taken back at 1:30 P.M. for her second SPEC SCAN test at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Lora and I stayed with Meadow until she went to sleep. 

During Meadows's test, Lora and I went to the cafeteria at the hospital for lunch.

Lora ordered a cheeseburger and fries and I ordered chicken fingers, a salad, and a parfait.

After her test, Meadow was taken back to PACU for recovery, after she recovered, she drank a can of Pedi-Sure.

By the time, when we returned to the RMH, it was pouring rain.

Meadow’s test went very well and she was playful for the remainder of the day.

That night at RMH we played Bingo.

Lora won two dolls, one for Madison and a Dora doll for Meadow.

It was terribly stormed that night causing 1 ½ million people in San Francisco, to be without power.

Day 4: January 4, Friday 2008 

Meadow will have two tests today, she could only clear liquids, so once again she is fed Chicken Broth.

Her first test will be the second part of the SPEC Scan Test.

Lora had Meadow’s Pedi Sure shipped to Doctor Stanford’s Office.

We meet Jill, from Dr. Stanford’s office, in front of Stanford Hospital, to pick up the Pedi-Sure.

Both Lora and Jill got wet while loading the Pedi-Sure into the car because it was pouring down rain.

Lora parked the car in the parking deck at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.

We walked to admitting, where Meadow was admitted once again to the hospital for the two tests.  

We met with Dr. Dodd in neurosurgery, he is doing Meadows's angiogram, and he explains the procedure that he will be doing on Meadow. 

Dr. Dodd said Meadow will be under anesthesia until the Angio and the second part of the SPEC SCAN are completed. 

Meadow’s little body could not stand all the stress of the two tests, her blood pressure and pulse dropped. 

The team administered B/P meds and IV Solu-Cortef (Cortisol replacement) or stress hormone due to panhypopituitarism. 

The doctor came looking for Lora and me, but he could not Lora because she had fallen asleep at the door in the lobby and I had gone downstairs to use the restroom.

When the doctor did find Lora he explained what had happened and he took her back to be with Meadow.

When I returned to the lobby a male nurse took me back to PICU.

Meadow was placed in PICU overnight, to be watched, Lora and I stayed with Meadow until 12 A.M.

We went to the lobby on the second floor and tried to sleep.

I walked up and down the stairs about 5 times during the night because there was no public restroom on the second floor.

Lora said they got cold sleeping in the corner of the lobby and that it made them sick.

Day 5: January 5, Saturday 2008 

I was up at 6 A.M. I went to check on Meadow, and then I went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast.

I ordered muffins, eggs, and bacon, and I went back to the lobby to work on my computer.

Meadow was dismissed from the hospital at 12: P.M. We rode back to the RMH and everyone took a nap.

The RMH had grilled hamburgers for supper and after supper, we talked to other families that were staying at the RMH.

We met a couple from Oregon who had lost their little girl from kidney failure and had come back to the RMH to bury her. They had four more children waiting for them back home in Oregon.

Day 6: January 6, Sunday 2008 

We were up at 8:30 A.M., we both took showers, ate breakfast, and Lora drove on Highway 101 toward San Francisco.

We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, and Lora stopped at Golden Gate Bridge Park.

We had to put our jackets on before we got out because it was still a bit chilly outside.

We put Meadow in her wheelchair and then we wrapped her up in her pink blanket.

We stop to take a picture with a statue of “The Lone Sailor Memorial and his duffle bag” This memorial commemorates the sacrifices sailors of all branches have made for the sake of freedom. In the background, we saw rolling hills of green and brown.

The Lone Sailor

We had walked about halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge when we stopped to take pictures.

A nice woman offered to take a group picture and we said yes.

Standing on the Golden Gate Bridge

While we were on the Golden Gate Bridge both Lora and I took many pictures of the city of San Francisco and Alcatraz (the Rock) the now deserted prisons. 

We returned back to the car to feed Meadow a can of Pedi-Sure.

We rode to Muir Woods Memorial Park, with all the twisty curves we made as we descended into the canyon below.

Driving to Muri Woods

There was no electricity at Muir Woods, the storm the night before had knocked out the power.

We paid three dollars each to enter the park.

Some of the paths where we walked in the park were concrete, while many others were wooden and some of the beaten paths were just dirt.

We saw a bubbling creek that flowed beside the path where we were walking, and next to the creek was a white wooden fence to keep people on the trodden path.

The dense forest was loaded with Redwood and Sequoia trees and they were big enough to stand inside.

The forest was probably full of bears and other wild creatures, but we did not see any.

The path was muddy and full of debris, and the rough terrain made it hard to push Meadow in her wheelchair.

Meadow’s little head went bobbing up and down as I wheeled her along in her wheelchair, which she thought was funny, and she laughed. 

We walked about two miles into the woods crossing a bridge to reach the other side.

We looked up at the sky from inside the Forrest where we saw the tops of the skyscrapers of the Redwoods and Sequoia Trees.

Redwoods and Sequoia Trees

Standing inside one of the many trees in Muri Woods

We also saw a huge redwood stump that dated back to 1100 AD.

We stopped at the restroom to change Meadow and use the restrooms.

We met two strangers outside the restroom and they wanted one of us to take a picture of them using their camera.

Then one of them took a group picture of us, we were standing next to a statue of a wooden carved brown bear.

I said to Lora that I would be afraid to eat a picnic lunch in Muri Woods because the bears might smell my food. 

We saw a Euro/Asia Indian family eating a picnic lunch in the Forrest.

We headed back to the car and wiped the debris off Meadow’s wheelchair, and the debris off our shoes before we got into the car.

We cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco and turn left toward Fisherman’s Wharf.

Lora parked the car inside a parking deck and we walked across the street to Pier 39.

We took the elevator up to Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company Restaurant and Market where we were seated at a table overlooking the San Francisco Bay. 

Bubba Gumps Seafood and Company at Pier 39
Bubba Gumps was a movie sign that read: Movie posters Pirates of the Caribbean.

We start our meal with an appetizer of spinach dip with chips. 

Lora and I split a plate of salmon cooked in rice, served with asparagus, carrots, and snow peas. 

When we finished eating our meal, we took Meadow to the restroom, changed her diaper, and then took the elevator to the lower level. 

We walked to the end of the pier where we both took pictures of Alcatraz.

Alcatraz

Along the pier were piles of brown and black sea lions lying on pallets bathing in the drizzling rain.

Sea Lions on Pier 39
We saw a sign posted that read: PIER 39 Harassment of the Sea Lions is a Violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. No docking, approaching, feeding, or throwing objects allowed.

We stopped in at Candy Baron to buy some saltwater taffy, they have sixty-six varieties to choose from and Lora bought Meadow a colorful sucker. 

We all rode the San Francisco Carousel that was handcrafted in Italy and I filmed Lora holding Meadow as the Carousel went around, up and down.

At Pier 39 Marina we saw 39 houses, with a 300-berth marina double-fingered wooden dock, boat slips that housed, sailboats powerboats, yachts, and a very large white cruise boat with the name Regent painted in black on it.

Lora wanted to drive down Pacific One Highway, this is the road that runs along, the coastlines of California.

Lora needed direction, so when we spotted a parked police officer, she pulled over next to him and asked for directions.

He said I can give you a shorter route so you will not have to drive back into the city.

He said, follow the third street, you will go under the Golden Gate Bridge to Market Street and follow Market Street to Highway 19 and stay in the middle lane. 

We followed Highway 19 to I-280 to Pacifica One Highway, by the time we reached Pacifica Highway One it was too dark to see the ocean. 

We enjoyed the ride even if it was drizzling rain as we traveled up the winding, mountainous roads.  

By the time we reached Half Moon Bay Beach, it was closed.

We stopped at a local store near Half Moon Bay where I purchased some cough drops and a non-winning lottery ticket.

Lora purchased a bottle of water and we used the restrooms.

Lora drove us back to Palo Alto driving down I-280 to San Hill Road.

We saw a family of deer on the mountainous road that Lora took to bypass the city back to the RMH.

We stopped at a local grocery store for washing powders. When we arrived back at the RMH I washed three loads of clothes.