From left to right: Julie, Michelle, Mike, Sonya, Mary Ellen, Nelson
By Michelle, Pasadena, California
I would like to tell you about the best VPSI vanpool.
Our group has been together for about a year and a half. We commute 20 miles one way in the Southern California traffic. That means we can be in the van together between 30 and 70 minutes each way (depending on the day of the week and the weather). Our group has grown to be an extended family as we talk, nap or laugh all the way to and from work. We have even celebrated our vanpool anniversary, retirements, birthdays and holidays together as a family.
In May 2009 I had a seizure at home that prevented me from driving for six months. If not for vanpooling, I don’t know how I would have gotten to work everyday. When I was cleared by the DMV to drive again, my vanpoolers would casually make sure I drove out of the parking lot first, then follow me, just to make sure I was doing okay behind the wheel (no one told me this was happening for several months).
On January 20, 2010, while napping, I had a seizure in the van on the way to work. I was unconscious for 20 minutes, but my vanpool members didn’t panic. Instead they sprang into action calling 911, calling my husband and crossing over the double yellow line to get out of the carpool lane and meet an ambulance. Everyone took care of me and for that I am truly thankful. As the ambulance backtracked to the hospital, with a fellow vanpooler escorting me, the van continued on to work. But the thoughtfulness didn’t stop there. The van continued on to work, dropped off several riders and then the driver went back to the hospital to check on me and pick up the other rider who rode with me to the hospital. How do you say thank you to people who so selflessly take care of you in a situation like this?
Now, when I fall asleep in the van, I am kept under close watch in the driver’s rearview mirror by my extended family.
Tags: 911, driving, extended family, napping, panic, seizure, vanpooling
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