Traveling to National Jewish Hospital

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You all know it’s been such a long journey and struggle for our youngest daughter with chronic, severe eczema. After four hospitalizations in 18 months, this was the week we were taking her to National Jewish Hospital. As I write this we are on day three of our stay here, and it’s already been quite a journey. It’s not just about her skin but the emotional journey we’ve both been on. It’s been exhausting trying to find out what is causing her health problems.

 

 

 

 

We left on October 13th bright and early in the morning. Our flight left at 6:30 am which meant we had to leave home by 4:30 am to make sure to get to the airport on time. Even though Bayla is NOT a morning person (ok who am I kidding neither am I) she did a great job getting up and going that early. I was really proud of her because she was really excited but also really nervous about going to Denver. The poor kid has been poked and prodded non stop for the last three years, so I was really expecting more hesitation from her.

We got to the airport, and we were able to be the very first people on the flight. Which flying Southwest, means we got to pick whatever seat we wanted. Per her pediatrician’s request, Bayla put on her mask to help reduce her exposure to germs and again she surprised me reminding me to get it for her. The day before we had spent time decorating masks for the trip to make it a little bit more “fun” for her to wear her mask. That girl is all about having the right accessory.

During our flight, Bayla was having a blast taking pictures with Peggy. Peggy is a plastic dinosaur a friend of mine found at a thrift shop. When Bayla was in the hospital last time, Sheryl sent me funny texts of Peggy to cheer me up. Since then Peggy has been a favorite of Bayla’s. To make her trip easier Sheryl lent Peggy to Bay with the promise that she takes many pictures of her, and that Peggy doesn’t bite any of the nurses. It’s been really cute seeing Bayla think of  new poses to share with you guys.

The flight couldn’t have been better, it wasn’t until we went to rent our car that things fell apart. See hubby and I don’t carry credit cards. I had called the national line for Enterprise rental car to see what was needed to use a debit card. Fearing something might go awry I even had a backup debit card with enough funds for the car rental. Went to the counter and they swiped the first card. The counter chick went paste white and started swiping the card a few times. My heart started to race realizing my worst fear might become a reality; it was declined.  I was confused because I had made a cash deposit to that account for the amount of the rental plus 20% like I had been told to do. They chick jabbered that maybe the bank had marked it as fraud since I was in a different state.

Since the bank was closed, I called the hubby up and got him to check the balance of the other bank account. He transferred funds and confirmed the funds were there, and they swiped my second account’s card…… DECLINED. They again spewed something about fraud. This irritated me because being a former banker, I am aware of when cards mark things as fraud, and I had used this check card in Denver last year with no problem. I offered to show her my bank account and was told that if it doesn’t get approved they can’t rent me a car. She kept insisting that I call the bank, that it had to be a fraud hold. When I asked if I call my bank and they confirm that funds are there and there is no fraud hold what is the next stop, the answer I got? No answer. There was “nothing” they could do. (Cue frustrated sobbing)

So, I haul Bayla and our five bags outside, and call my mom. My mom offered to give them her credit card info over the phone and they wouldn’t take it because they had to have a physical swipe. At this point I spoke with a manager, and asked if he was ok leaving a sick child stranded at the car rental place rather than trying to help us figure this out. His reply “Why wouldn’t I want to rent you a car? I make money off renting a car??!!” (Way to show your TRUE motivation for your customers)

Crying and frustrated, I went back outside to call my second bank, and they double checked everything and switched money to another account to try that card again. There I am standing in the lobby on the phone with my bank, sobbing like an idiot, and miraculously the card went through. I don’t know if the accounts were mixed up or if Enterprise was trying to hold some crazy amount or what. All I know is it terrified my 11 year old, Enterprise wasn’t looking to offer ANY solutions other than to tell me it must be my bank, and I was embarrassed because after an already early  morning I was sobbing and couldn’t stop.

Once the car situation was ok, on the way out the lady giving me my contract asked how the customer service was. I was honest, and said awful! She just stared at me like a deer in the headlights and said “Uhh…..Sorry.” handed me my contract and again never offered any resolutions or questions how things could’ve been better. Needless to say I will NEVER be renting a car from Enterprise again. This was the second time they had almost left me high and dry. The first time was at home but I only lived five miles from the airport and didn’t have a return ticket so they wouldn’t let me rent a car with a debit card for ONE day at midnight. Only reason I used them this time is because they had a steep discount for National Jewish Hospital patients. Yep, never again. Lesson learned.

After we got out of the hell hole, we were on our way to National Jewish. We were both a little bit shaken up, but we were glad to be on our way. As we were driving the 20 minutes to our destination we took in a few deep breaths, enjoyed the view of the mountains and prayed we were on the right track….

Onward and forward to Day 1 at the National Jewish Hospital Eczema program.