Dr Carter at the Mayo Clinic in Az

[flowerfloosey]

Has anyone had any experience with this neurologist? It seems I read something recently but can't find it.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks all,
Cynde/flower

[goofysmom1]

I chose to stay at the Courtyard Marriott here on the Mayo campus just because it is so convenient.  The hotel has a free shuttle that literally only takes about 2 minutes to get to the clinic.  I have walked also, which only takes about 5 minutes.  The Courtyard staff are very friendly, helpful and they understand when you tell them that you may need to shorten or extend your stay.  They also have a "mayo clinic rate" for those who are being seen at the Mayo Clinic.  Make sure you ask about that.  They told us that only about 15% of their occupancy is NOT mayo clinic related!

As for a rental car - I found one of the least expensive was Advantage.

Cynde - I don't know what airline you are flying - we are from Seattle, so I chose Alaska.  Our flex ticket for our return flight was $370 per person plus taxes.  Considering the fees that the airlines can charge you for changing a non-refundable ticket - it was the better price for us.  

The Courtyard Marriott has a cafe that serves a buffet or menu ordered breakfast & then a regular menu for dinner.  They also have a limited bar.  You do have to pay for these - they are not included in your room.

Chrisy

[cuttersmom]

Unfortunately this is high time in Phoenix!!  All "tourist" stuff is expensive. Try Fox rent-a-car. I checked approximate dates for you, and they seemed to be about $200.00 for the week, depending upon the size care you wanted.  What hotel will you be staying at?  I have friends that work at the Fairmont Princess, and I'm going to try them to see if they can give me a good rate.  The Residence Inn is $30.00 more per night but it includes the breakfast buffet and evening cocktails (I have a feeling I might need the cocktails!!).  I'm just glad that you and Chrisy directed me towards staying in a hotel and planning on being there longer than just the one day! (what a dummy I am!)

[flowerfloosey]

Thank you guys for commenting on this thread. I made reservations yesterday for round trip with a 150$ each change fee. Yikes. I didn't know you could buy a ticket without it! I wonder if I should call and see if they will change that for me?
I am working on getting all my medical records in order and get them from all the docs I have seen.
This trip is costing us so much money as he likes to stay in a nice hotel. I kind of wanted to stay in the courtyard too but talked to a friend that just returned from the mayo and he said that he liked staying away from there, so I followed his choice. We will see how it goes. We are staying 15 minutes from there. My problem in now that I can't find a inexpensive car rental. Any ideas?

[cuttersmom]

Thanks for the info.  I called this am, and they said to plan for at least 3 days.  Rather than bunking in with friends & family (we're from there but now live in Vegas), I guess we'll get a hotel room there at the Courtyard.  I'm guessing it would be a lot of back and forth.  My mom is flying out to go with me (hubby just took his vacation 2 weeks ago) so she is changing her return flight just in case it does go longer.  And now rather than leaving my 8 year old at home with hubby, I will take him out of school and take him with me.

Again, thanks for the info, and please let us know how it all turns out!

Kristen

[goofysmom1]

I should also point out that when you schedule your appointment, they automatically preschedule certain tests.  Once you have seen the doctor, they will cancel any that they don't need - it is easier to cancel tests than to try to find available appointments in your short stay here, especially in my case where I needed so many different tests.

Chrisy

[goofysmom1]

I am not dx'd and when I scheduled my appointment, I had only had an MRI of the brain so I have had to have all of the rest of the "typical" tests.  Blood, MRI of C  & T Spine, EMG, Opthomologist etc.  If I was not seeing the GI docs here, I would be going home today. (a total of 7 working days for the neuro stuff) The literature that they send you tells you to plan for 3 to 5 days.  They do their best to schedule everything as quickly as possible.   When I booked our flights, I made sure that the return ticket was flexible (no fees to change it) just in case we were here longer.  I have had to change our flight home twice now, so although the ticket home was more expensive, it has saved us in the long run.

They also don't repeat tests unless they feel it is necessary.  The neuro saw no reason to repeat my brain MRI at this time, but I would imagine that is a decision that is very individual to each patient and what tests have been done & how old the tests are.  Just my thoughts - not completely sure about that.

The neuro I am seeing is Dr. Brent Goodman, he seems very nice & very thorough.  I have only seen him once, (my first appointment) and then he ordered all the tests - other than my neuro exam and the brain MRI that I brought with me, so he didn't have much to work with until he sees the rest of my tests.

It will be very interesting to see how today's appointment goes.  

If you have any questions - regarding your stay here in AZ or how the system works, call the Mayo.  They are very helpful and as I said earlier, their system is very well run.

Thank you for the kind thoughts & I will let you know how it goes.  Since I am here until Tuesday (for the GI stuff) I won't post my whole experience until I get home, but feel free to ask me questions anyway!  :)

Chrisy