Re: Reply to Ri, sorry still looong

May 14, 2002

Hi Ri,

If your daughter is really hyper, is it possible to use a mild sedative. One

thing that we did, was bring along brochures from our local Autism Society

(our son happens to be on the cover) that explains Autism to people who may

be curious, or rude. The flight attendant actually wanted a copy so he could

send a donation. We informed the crew as soon as we boarded what his

condition was and that we were flying to California for medical treatment

(that gave us a chance to plug ).

We packed lots of sensory toys like squeeze balls and things like that for

Matt to play with. We borrowed an oversized stroller from a friend with a

physically handicapped son, it was perfect. You really need them staying put

when you have to get out passports, etc.

I don't know if your daughter has problems with her ears when flying, my son

still has a bottle, so we gave it to him just as we reached the end of the

runway. I found an ad for earplugs called EarPlanes that are made for

children, they are supposed to regulate air pressure. They sound neat

although I can't imagine my son keeping them in but here's their website,

WWW.EARPLANES.COM

1-800-327-6151.

I would recommend the Days Inn because it's within walking distance to Dr.

G's. If you type in Days Inn, Tarzana on the search engine you can see

pictures of it. That might be nice for your daughter to see where she will

be staying. There are a lot of restaurants that deliver in the area, so it

might be a little saner for you to order in and eat by the enclosed pool.

The weather should be perfect.

As far as seeing Dr. G, absolutely it was worth the trip. He had a

wonderful manner with . There weren't a lot of surprises because we

are so familiar with at this point. He was very thorough and we were

pleased to see that he was completely familiar with 's file before he

saw us. He explained all the irregularities in the bloodwork very carefully.

And finally, it was worth the visit because he is the only person that I

know of in the world that looks upon, and treats these children for what

they are , kids.

Don't forget to take a swimsuit.

Re: Our trip to see Dr. G (loooong)

>

> Thank you so much for your very very useful info. I

> will be going to see Dr G from the uk in July and as

> you could imagine am dreading the plane journey as my

> daughter is very difficult to control and very hyper.

> I am flying with American Airlines (any tips welcome.

> your email gave me lots of relevant info regarding

> taxis etc. I too am thinking of satying at the Inn.

>

> Please tell me was seeing Dr G as you expected?

>

> Rifat

>

> --- Doug McCreary <dmccreary@...> wrote:

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> Hi all,

> We just got back from our trip to LA and thought some

> people might want to hear of our travel

> experience.

> Our trip was a very short one, we left Toronto on

> Monday evening and got home Friday morning.

> We checked at the Park and Fly and Air Canada checked

> us in and issued us boarding passes right there, while

> and I stayed in the car. They advised us to go

> to the Special Services counter for Air Canada in the

> airport. Those people were fantastic they escorted us

> and carried our luggage though the entire airport

> right to our gate! We got to take our stroller right

> to the gate and it was retrieved at LA and given to us

> at the gate there. We preboarded in Toronto, but I

> would suggest if the flight is full as it was coming

> home that you actually get on last, it's less time on

> the plane. Our flight was at 6:30pm so we gave

> some Gravol at 6pm. We lucked out because the plane

> was only half full. We found the best seating

> arrangement was at a window seat, Doug next to

> him in the aisle and me across the aisle. He had a

> really good Gluten Free meal (pre-ordered). Then after

> dinner he cuddled in on a bed made of two seats,

> pillows and blankets, had a bottle and didn't wake up

> until landing. WOW. In LA we got our bags and headed

> for the Thrifty shuttle which was right outside, we

> had prebooked our rental car from Thrifty over the

> internet. It was $30 a day, unlimited mileage (we

> didn't have any special discounts) and $15 for the

> booster for the week. & nbsp; They filled it back up

> with gas at the end of the week because gas was

> significantly cheaper through them. I found a

> maps site on the internet where I could type in

> Thrifty's address and the Days Inn address and it gave

> me a printable map both in pictures and written

> instructions on exactly how to get to the Hotel, it

> was amazing. We were at the hotel within one hour of

> landing! We got in at about 9;30 pm LA time and there

> was no traffic. If someone wanted to take a cab

> however, I got some names and numbers. I would not

> recommend driving on the freeway during the day if you

> are not comfortable in really fast, unpredictable

> traffic ( for any Canadians reading this, it's like

> Montreal!). These are the cab companies;Primetime

> Shuttle 1-800-773-8267 & amp; Super Shuttle

> 1-818-556-6600. These two companies were about

> $30.

> Carnival car and limousine service 1-800-928-2899

> & amp; 818-345-5466 www.limo1.com, about $60. This

> company claims they are the & quot;only transportation

> allowed to pick-up & amp;drop off inside the

> terminal & quot;. That would save getting the

> shuttle.

> We stayed at the Days Inn 1-818-345-9410 . It's not

> the Ritz but it was clean and the staff was very

> friendly, and we didn't get strange looks when

> was whooping it up out at the pool. It looked a bit

> like the set of Melrose Place. We spoke with Randy the

> Manager (ask to speak with him and mention that you

> are going to see Dr. G, for a reduced rate)in advance

> and he gave us a reduced rate of $80/nt, that

> consisted of 2 queen beds, coffeemaker, iron,

> hairdryer, fridge which is empty (that was great, we

> stocked up at the supermarket). The rate also included

> continental breakfast which was great. It was in a

> hotel room converted into a kitchen with a few tables

> in it. There was lots of fresh fruit, bread bagels,

> danish's, doughnuts,cereal, condiments, OJ, milk, tea,

> coffee a toaster (we used it for our GFCF bread that

> we brought with us) and a microwave. We took the tray

> that was in our room and carried breakfast back to the

> room.

> Although all they have is breakfast, this room can be

> opened by a staff at any time during the day if you

> need to use the microwave. We loved the pool area, it

> was totally fenced in and provided towels, we could

> actually sit and relax while played. Except

> when he would go after the sand in the ashtrays

> aaaargh!!! At night we always kept the fan running in

> the room for & quot;white noise & quot;. He also had a

> suite available with a full kichen and a separate

> bedroom, I think it was $160/nt but I have temporarily

> lost my notes. Dr G's office was about a five minute

> walk from the hotel, so if you don't rent a car it's a

> breeze to get there. It's right next to Mcs.

>

> There is a health food store two blocks from the

> hotel, on your way to Dr. G's, they don't have a lot

> but they do sell rice and soy milk.

> There are a lot of restaurants in the area. The first

> Mcs you get to is right next to Dr. G's, if you

> go a couple of miles down the road they have one with

> an outdoor playplace yayyy!

> The meeting with Dr. G was great, we had a little bit

> of bloodwork left and & quot;the vampire & quot; from the

> lab was amazing, barely knew what

> happened.

> We found a huge dollar store down the strip past

> Dr.G's where we got pool toys (we left them at the

> hotel, so you may not need any) souviners and snacks.

> I had a blast and blew $38. A little further down the

> road there is a large grocery store called Ralphs

> where we stocked up on groceries.

> We spent two wonderful evenings with president

> Marc Share and his beautiful family, and we miss them

> already. There was a rock band from England called

> Glisten staying at the hotel who were very friendly

> and very interested in , they gave us their CD

> (which is pretty good, they sound like U2)and promised

> if they make it big they will be

> spokes people for , (you never know).

> On the last day we headed slowly back to the airport,

> we had about 7 hours to kill. & nbsp; We got on to the

> Pacific Coast Highway and made our way to the Santa

> Pier. We played in the sand, watched fish being

> caught and then moved on a little further south to

> Venice beach where they had some awesome playgrounds,

> you can kind of parkhop all the way down the

> beach.

> Eventually we got to the airport, they didn't appear

> to have special services there so we had to go through

> the & quot;system & quot; like everyone else. Oh

> Well!

> The flight home was uneventfull, fell asleep

> before boarding, it was an 11pm departure and slept

> the whole way home.

> I wish the best of luck to anyone making this journey.

> I lived in dread for the last eight months of doing

> this and it turned out just fine.

> Happy Mothers Day,

> McCreary

>

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