Prayer Request
Thanks again for prayers for me and my husband and our families and friends and all of our pets.
Please continue to pray for the orange cat who went missing.
Please also pray for all the animals whose stories are posted on Facebook because they are lost or found or in need of homes. Facebook has hundreds of animal welfare groups, and they send me links to around 10 of them. I have tried to be a good group member, sharing their new posts every morning, but I can't continue. I have had extreme muscle spasms around my right eye since 1984, and close focusing makes them worse. I am in communication with the owners of some of the groups, so I will still share all of their posts, but mostly I am sticking to one post per day, which is only slightly better than nothing.
Please pray that my sister will never say even one more word to me about why I should not have a car or why I should be grateful that there are ride share services near me. I could live with her saying no, she wouldn't help me get a car, but I really didn't appreciate the lecture. Ride share services are much better than nothing, but as far as I am concerned, being dependent on ride share services makes me a second-class citizen. I'm sure I will get used to that status, but in the meantime, I would prefer not to be reminded of it.
9 Comments
" am concerned, being dependent on ride share services makes me a second-class citizen"
Please don't say that. I am disabled and haven't been able to drive for the last 10 years. My husband died 5 years ago so I also have to rely on ride-share services. I miss the freedom of driving so much, but I know it wouldn't be wise for me to get behind the wheel with my back and neck problems. I also don't believe driving or not driving makes anyone a second-class citizen. I had lived in a small-town area where ride-sharing wasn't available, so I do feel fortunate to be in a city now. We need to make the best of our situations, whatever they are. Someday, God will answer our questions as to why we have the problems we do. Until then, we need to do the best we can. He wants us on this earth for some reason, so we just need to do the best we can until He calls us home.
Thanks for your emotional support! I was able to get home from the hospital twice using Uber-- much better than nothing!-- but since I do live in a small town, I think if I wanted Uber to come and pick me up, I would have to make my reservation the day before, and I suspect they would charge more to come here than they charge in the city. I don't know how I would have gotten home from the hospital without Uber, but they charged me $41 the first time and $29 the second time, which was pretty depressing.
I know Uber and Lyft have gotten much more expensive over the last few years. Many rural counties offer public transportation at a reduced cost. I don't know where you live, but try calling your county's Human Services agency. They may be able to help or point you in the right direction. Also, call some churches in the area. Some offer transportation help (especially for medical reasons). It would be much cheaper, and you don't need to be a member of the church. Start with Lutheran Community Services. I think they can help you. It's not easy being disabled, but there are some disability services even in rural areas that I'm sure will help.
Our county does have a regular bus that only costs $2-- possibly only $1 for seniors. It is very limited, but I must admit my husband uses it successfully every week. It goes to the Board of Elections and possibly to the Department of Motor Vehicles, but I'm not sure where the bus stops are. For example, there is a stop in front of the library but nothing across the street, so where do you stand to go in the opposite direction? Even my husband was unpleasantly surprised once when he was waiting by the bus stop and the bus still went by without stopping.
The county does have medical transportation, and it is even free! But it allows only 2 rides per month and requires reservations weeks in advance. Still, MUCH better than nothing!
I wouldn't bet on churches being useful. One of the medical transportation drivers told me about her rider who had to find a new church because the first one he wanted to go to wouldn't help him with transportation.
Try calling your county's bus service and ask if they could send you information on all the stops, hours of operation, etc. They may even have that information on their website. Even in the city where I live now, transportation assistance isn't easy. Some health insurance companies pay for a certain number of rides a year. One big insurance company here offers 12 rides per year using Lyft and Uber. But just last Monday, a friend stood outside our building, and the driver didn't even stop--she went right past her!!! Another person had a driver look at him, but then drove off! He uses a walker and we think the driver didn't want to take a minute to put it in his trunk or back seat. It's not easy using public transportation no matter where we live. It's hard when we can't drive and have to rely on other sources for transportation. I'm 70 and disabled with many lumbar and cervical problems. I have a caregiver who takes me to my appointments. I can't use the county shuttle service because the shuttles (and city roads) are very bumpy. I have 4 loose screws in the hardware that runs from my head down into my upper back. One screw is very close to the vertebral artery that goes to the brain. I have to be very careful not to get my head jarred, as it's very painful for days when the screw just lightly touches that artery. I will likely have a stroke when that screw gets looser, but I try not to do things that will make it happen even sooner. Surgeons won't operate because they are afraid that just touching the hardware will cause a stroke, and they don't want that responsibility. I would still try giving Lutheran Community Services a call tomorrow--you never know if they can help or point you in the right direction. I'm praying for you.
Thanks for your prayers! As long as I don't get stranded again as I did those 2 times at the hospital, I don't have any place I need to go until my driver's license expires in December. I don't expect to ever drive again, but even if I just wanted to give up on it, I would still have to go to the DMV to get my non-driver's ID.
I hope your screw won't get looser any time soon.
Thank you. ❤
Although I haven't been able to drive for the last 10 years, I still have a valid driver's license that I use for ID purposes. I didn't want to sit for hours at the DMV to get an ID card, so I just continue to renew my license by mail or online every 5 years.