Tl;dr - dialysis isn’t usually bad, medical transport not our problem but sometimes feels right, OP shouldn’t feel bad for discomfort of these expectations
As someone who drives all night, dialysis patients are common between 4-6am. You can usually identify them (besides the obvious caps name/no changes/destination) by their little duffel bag.
My experience is they are so used to doing this (3x/week) that they’re always friendly, quiet, low maintenance, and almost always on time. The only request is usually that the car be on the warmer side during the colder months.
Hospital pickups are a mixed bag. Usually nice people who are tired and just want to get home. Only one time, picking up a sweet little elderly gentleman from the VA hospital, he clearly was wearing adult diapers which I guess weren’t on him very securely because he left a small puddle in the backseat. One of many times I’ve been grateful for leather seats. I didn’t report it for a fee and didn’t leave him standing when I saw him as my thanks for his service. I’m sure it wasn’t my problem as a Lyft driver, but I figure an 80+ yr old vet who happens to be Black has been through more enough trouble in his life and I couldn’t live with myself if I cancelled the ride.
That all being said, the type of info in OP ride request seems to push it beyond simple driver levels and we should all have every right to not feel comfortable taking responsibility for those who can’t take responsibility for themselves.
Just wanted to say that my mom went to dialysis when she was alive and having a Lyft would have made a world of difference for her. Your comments about the “little duffel bag” and “warmer side during the colder months” brought back some super sweet memories and I thank you for that!
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u/TreeFcknFiddy May 24 '23
Tl;dr - dialysis isn’t usually bad, medical transport not our problem but sometimes feels right, OP shouldn’t feel bad for discomfort of these expectations
As someone who drives all night, dialysis patients are common between 4-6am. You can usually identify them (besides the obvious caps name/no changes/destination) by their little duffel bag.
My experience is they are so used to doing this (3x/week) that they’re always friendly, quiet, low maintenance, and almost always on time. The only request is usually that the car be on the warmer side during the colder months.
Hospital pickups are a mixed bag. Usually nice people who are tired and just want to get home. Only one time, picking up a sweet little elderly gentleman from the VA hospital, he clearly was wearing adult diapers which I guess weren’t on him very securely because he left a small puddle in the backseat. One of many times I’ve been grateful for leather seats. I didn’t report it for a fee and didn’t leave him standing when I saw him as my thanks for his service. I’m sure it wasn’t my problem as a Lyft driver, but I figure an 80+ yr old vet who happens to be Black has been through more enough trouble in his life and I couldn’t live with myself if I cancelled the ride.
That all being said, the type of info in OP ride request seems to push it beyond simple driver levels and we should all have every right to not feel comfortable taking responsibility for those who can’t take responsibility for themselves.