SURREY 鈥� Bill Ruppel clicked on his seatbelt, started up his silver Honda Element and began another shift as a much-needed volunteer driver.
鈥淥ne of the things about doing this job for a day is you feel pretty grateful at the end of it,鈥� he said as his vehicle motored east toward North Delta and, ultimately, BC Cancer Agency鈥檚 Fraser Valley Centre at 性视界传媒 Memorial Hospital.
鈥淵ou stay at a clinic like that for any amount of time and see all the people coming and going, you gain perspective on life in general, mortality and all that, how important health is.鈥�
Ruppel, a South 性视界传媒 resident, is with , a year-old organization that makes life a little easier for people coping with chemo, radiation and other cancer-related appointments at clinics across Metro Vancouver.
A similar ride program was operated locally by Canadian Cancer Society, but, in a cost-cutting move, .
Thankfully, for many cancer patients who rely on such rides, some of that program鈥檚 existing volunteers kept the service rolling under an entirely new framework, and Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society was born.
鈥淎t some point, we can all use a lift,鈥� notes the society鈥檚 glossy, green-on-white brochure, a copy of which Darlene Razzo picked up at a cancer clinic not long ago.
The longtime North Delta resident, diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December, called the number because she, indeed, needed a lift to her many radiation appointments 鈥� 25 in total.
鈥淚 just discovered the service,鈥� Razzo said as she sat in the passenger seat of Ruppel鈥檚 vehicle. 鈥淲hen I saw the pamphlet I thought, oh, this would be a real lifesaver. I had no idea there was such a thing.鈥�
Razzo had begun her radiation treatments two weeks previous, and they continued five days a week.
鈥淚鈥檝e used the service quite a bit,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very helpful, and because I don鈥檛 feel well a lot of the time, I鈥檓 so thankful to have this transportation. All the drivers are so friendly.鈥�
Razzo, who recently retired from working at a dry-cleaning business in Boundary Park, has a license to drive, but she鈥檚 been feeling very tired of late, due to all that radiation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not great to be out driving,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 could take the bus right off 116th, but I chose to go this way. It鈥檚 just easier. I also developed vertigo over the last six months, which prevented me from driving. I was pretty much bedridden for three months. It hit me all at once.鈥�
The lift service is free, and donations are welcomed, but not solicited.
For their fuel costs, the society gives its volunteer drivers 41 cents per kilometre.
鈥淭he biggest challenge we have as a group is probably raising money, although we鈥檝e had some nice gifts, in the form of gas and money, from the Rotary club and companies like Chevron,鈥� said Ruppel, who became a volunteer driver about a year ago and has since joined the society鈥檚 board of directors as driver dispatch co-ordinator.
A retired Air Canada pilot, Ruppel found himself with a bit of extra time 鈥� that is, when he鈥檚 not out riding his motorcycle.
鈥淚 had a little scrape with cancer back in around 1995, so I鈥檓 sensitive to the needs of patients,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was just looking for a place to give back and donate some time. I do typically three or four drives per week myself.鈥�
Another challenge for the group is having enough drivers to keep up with demand in certain areas, including 性视界传媒.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to solicit some new drivers who live in our 性视界传媒 service area, the northern portion of the city, because we鈥檙e finding that we have typically quite a few patients who live in 性视界传媒 but not as many drivers,鈥� Ruppel said.
鈥淪o we鈥檙e having to bring drivers from afar to get to the patient鈥檚 home, to their appointment, and then back home. Some of those drivers are coming from places like Langley and White Rock, so in the interest of efficiency and money-saving, we鈥檇 like some of our drivers to be more strategically located closer to patients in 性视界传媒.鈥�
Five-hundred trips a month is not unusual for the society to manage, and it costs them approximately $15,000 in monthly fuel reimbursements for the drivers, Ruppel said.
鈥淭ypically in the north end of 性视界传媒, we do around 60 trips per month, so that鈥檚 about 15 trips or so a week,鈥� he noted.
鈥淎 lot of people need to head into Vancouver for their treatments or their appointments, and some will be closer to home here in 性视界传媒. That鈥檚 pretty typical for patients from this area.鈥�
The society is interested in recruiting people who can drive to Vancouver, Ruppel added, because not everyone can, or will, do that.
鈥淲ith traffic the way it is, some of our people are reluctant to do that drive,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome of our volunteers are getting on in years and don鈥檛 want to take that chance on the roads. We鈥檙e also looking for folks who can, at the bare minimum, donate at least a full day a week to this service, ideally more than that.
鈥淭here are some appointments that are as long as three and four hours, so that four-hour appointment is a tipping point where we鈥檒l aim to get somebody else to come pick up that person for the trip home, rather than a person waiting around for that length of time.鈥�
For people looking to get involved as volunteer drivers, conditions include a mandatory criminal reference check and adequate third-party liability vehicle insurance. For full details, Ruppel steers would-be drivers to the Volunteer section of the group鈥檚 website, at volunteercancerdrivers.ca.
鈥淲hen people understand what we do, they鈥檙e willing to step up and help out, it鈥檚 just a matter of getting the word out to people,鈥� Ruppel said.
鈥淪ame thing with funds, it鈥檚 a no-brainer. We鈥檙e simply getting people to their appointments and back to their homes, and a lot of people just don鈥檛 have the wherewithal to do that, or the physical health to do that.鈥�
tom.zillich@ surreynowleader.com
