Tag: Downtown Palo Alto

May 26, 2018

~ Campjustin ~ 1 Comment

My Dad visited me for the first time at the Ronald McDonald House today. The Ronald McDonald house is a housing facility near the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. I have to stay here 3 months before I can go back home. Unfortunately, I can’t spend the day with him because Ray is visiting me today.

Ray is coming here today. I know this isn’t easy for him because Palo Alto is 40 minutes away from Pleasanton and this week at school is finals week.

Ray is great friend. He’s supported me when I missed tons of school. I texted him the day of my heart transplant (April 27, 2018). He wanted to visit me in the hospital, but I told him no because I was feeling awful (May 4, 2018). Now that I’m out of the hospital I’m better.

There’s a mall across the Ronald McDonald House. Today is my first day exploring that The Stanford Mall. The Stanford Mall is also an outdoor mall so I have to be careful and stay in the shade. After transplant, I’m more vulnerable to skin cancer.

Palo Alto is a rich city. Actually, any city in Silicon Valley is a rich city. I expect everything at the Stanford Mall to be super expensive considering: it’s in Palo Alto & it’s in Stanford. Turns out all of the prices were the same as my own hometown, Pleasanton.

My FitBit told me I walked 10,000 steps today. Woah.

In the hospital I could barely walk 10 feet without taking a break. The reason is my heart goes crazy whenever take a step. While walking and talking with Ray, I must’ve ignored my heart. That’s awesome!

I’m not even a month after my heart transplant, and I walked 10,000 steps!

When Ray left, my Dad and I went to Downtown Palo Alto to eat.

This is also my first time exploring Downtown Palo Alto. Downtown Palo Alto is a lot nicer than Downtown Pleasanton.

At Downtown Palo Alto I ate dinner with dad at ramen restaurant. Sushi used to be my favorite food, but I’m not allowed to eat raw food. Forever.

After eating, my heart pounding decided to show up. For a good 40 minutes after eating my heart was beating out of my chest. I didn’t want to stand up or walk. I hate my heart pounding.

June 22, 2018

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My Mom and I walked to the Stanford theater today. The Stanford theater is a theater in Downtown Palo Alto that plays classic movies. Downtown Palo Alto isn’t far from the Ronald McDonald House.

Even though Downtown Palo Alto isn’t far from the Ronald McDonald House, it’s still a tiring walk for me. I have a sensation of heart pounding when I do any physical activity. Although it’s not as bad as it was in the hospital, it still inhibits me from doing a lot. I wore my pixar hat I got from the Ronald McDonald House (see June 21, 2018) to protect myself from the sun. After transplant, I’m also more vulnerable to skin cancer.

The Stanford theater has showtimes on their ticket booth and online. If you’re staying at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, I recommend you check them out. We watched the Royal Wedding at 7:30 PM. The Royal Wedding was released in 1951, so it’s pretty old.

June 24, 2018

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I walked with my mom to downtown Palo Alto today. The Ronald McDonald House is a challenging (for me) yet reasonable distance from Downtown Palo Alto. Since I need to build my endurance, I always take a chance to walk to Downtown Palo Alto.

We ate New Orleans food at NOLA in Downtown. I loved NOLA’s atmosphere and their food was great.

June 28, 2018

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Julia, my sister, came to visit me today. We decided to watch a movie at the Stanford theater. The Stanford theater is a movie theater at Downtown Palo Alto that shows classic movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

We also asked Noah and his family to come with us. Noah is a 10-year-old boy also at the Ronald McDonald house. He has stomach cancer and is being treated with an experimental drug. Noah was pretty tired and his dad stayed with him, so his mom came.

Downtown Palo Alto is a reasonable distance from the Ronald McDonald House. Since I do need exercise everyday, it’s good that I’m walking. However, a patient without energy might not be able to walk the distance. Now that my heart pounding is less noticeable, it’s much easier for me.

At Downtown Palo Alto we ate at Lemonade, a health food restaurant. My sister also eats at lemonade at LA, so she likes the food there.

We watched Christmas in July. Christmas in July is about a guy being tricked by his co workers of winning a slogan contest. However, the owner of the company gives him the prize, without realizing he’s not the actual winner. When Christmas in July ended, we stayed for another move, The Gay Divorcee. The Gay Divorcee is about a women desperately trying to get a divorce, and she fakes cheating. Halfway through I got lost because there was so much singing and dancing and black and white.

My dad picked Julia from the movie theater. Otherwise, Julia would’ve had to stay the night with us at the Ronald McDonald House.

Noah’s mom liked the movies. She said it was nice that there’s so much fun stuff to do at Stanford.

July 4, 2018

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Today is the Fourth of July. Since I’m staying at the Ronald McDonald House, and not at my house in Pleasanton, we don’t really know what to do. I searched the internet, and I found that there’s a fireworks show at Seaport Boulevard in Redwood City.

Redwood City is nearby Palo Alto, the home of Stanford University. Seaport Boulevard is a boulevard that’s near the water, and there’s a private yacht dock along the boulevard.

My Mom drove me to Seaport Boulevard, but then she saw how wheelchair accessible the boulevard was, so she drove back to the Ronald McDonald House to get our grandma. Our grandma also needs special care, so she stays with us at the Ronald McDonald House.

We got takeout food in Downtown Palo Alto from Jing-Jing Szechwan & Hunan Gourmet. I first tasted Jing-Jing in the hospital after transplant. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I wanted some noodles, so a nurse suggested Jing-Jing since they had great noodles. The hospital food was great, but after awhile it gets boring.

After we got takeout, we went to Seaport Boulevard with grandma. By the time we got there, the fireworks already started and all the cars were jammed. We decided to park outside, and watch the fireworks from the sidewalk. It was a great day.

July 17, 2018

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Ramen Nagi, a restaurant chain in Japan, just opened their first U.S. location in downtown Palo Alto. Since downtown Palo Alto is walking distance from the Ronald McDonald House, we decided to go.

Ramen Nagi has a very long line, so if you decide to go but can’t stand up for a long duration of time make sure you can sit on something. Bring a chair if you have to.

I got the squid ink ramen and my mom got the Tonkotsu ramen. The Tonkotsu ramen was good, and so was the Tonkotsu ramen, but they weren’t excellent. I think the restaurant is over hyped, and it’s not worth waiting for.

  • Squid Ink Ramen
  • Tonkotsu Ramen

July 18, 2018

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Every Wednesday at the Ronald McDonald house there’s a movie night. Usually no one goes (I don’t know why?), but I invited my neighbor, Kayano, and his family to come. I also invited Johanna (pseudonym) and her mother Tanjila (pseudonym) to watch the movie with us.

Tanjila is a really sweet person. She was nervous about bringing Johanna to Stanford, since they live far away. She said I made them less nervous, which I felt great about. Johanna needs a lung transplant, but she’ll need to be on an oxygen machine in the meantime.

We watched Trolls. Trolls is a movie about trolls. It’s so bad it’s hilarious. I loved laughing at the awkward moments.

If you’re at the Ronald McDonald house or the hospital, you’re most likely in pain. I suggest finding something to occupy your time to distract from the pain.

At the Ronald McDonald House there’s tons of activities for you to enjoy, such as bingo night, arts & crafts, or movie night. My personal favorite is sitting at the kitchen and reading a book. People are more open to talk to you if you make yourself seem available. The Stanford Mall is across the street, and Downtown Palo Alto and Safeway are walking distance away. Safeway has a food bar, and Downtown Menlo Park is not far from Safeway. If you can make it to Downtown Palo Alto or Downtown Menlo Park, you can hop on a CalTrain and travel to neighboring cities.

At the hospital, check out the Family Resource Center. I rented so many movies at the Family Resource Center that I finished the Captain America, Mission Impossible, Lord of the Rings, and Avengers series. The hospital also has a great garden to explore, and each unit has a balcony so you can have fresh air. I remember my room had so much stenk that outside smelled like heaven. Stanford has playrooms for you to enjoy. The playrooms include games, and there are other people at the playrooms you can play with.

July 20, 2018

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Today my Mom and I walked to the Stanford Theater. The Stanford Theater is only 1 mile away from the Ronald McDonald house, so it’s very convenient if you’re able to walk. The Stanford Theater is an old school theater that shows movies made during the Golden Age of Hollywood, such as Casablanca or Gone with the Wind. Some of the movies are black and white, so it’s a cool vintage experience.

We watched Roman Holiday, and a part of Queen Christina. Roman Holiday is a movie that launched Audrey Hepburn into the public eye. Audrey Hepburn plays the princess of Rome who runs away with a random guy to have fun. Queen Christina is about the well educated Queen of Scotland that decided she didn’t want to marry.

If you’re at the Ronald McDonald House, or waiting to go to the Ronald McDonald House, you have tons of things to do at downtown. Being in the hospital sucks, but if you can travel to Downtown Palo Alto, there’s so much you can do. There’s restaurants, music, and the Stanford Theater.

After we watched the movie we went to a nearby bakery, Paris Baguette, to get some pastries. I don’t eat sweets, so I got the savory baked goods.

July 21, 2018

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Every Saturday my Dad visits me at the Ronald McDonald House. This Saturday we decided to drive along the mountain.

We drove away from Palo Alto to the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. We saw a great retirement center which I think would be perfect for my Mom. The mountain was nice, but no wifi, so that sucks.

My Mom and I also decided to walk to downtown for dinner tonight. The Ronald McDonald House is about one mile away from Downtown Palo Alto, so it’s bearable. I try to walk at least 10,000 steps (tracked by my Fitbit) everyday for my physical therapy.

We ate at Wahlburgers. Wahlburgers is a restaurant chain owned by Paul Wahlberg and partnered with his two brothers, one of which is the famous actor Mark Wahlberg. Wahlburgers even had a TV show made out of it.

We decided to walk back to the Ronald McDonald house by cutting through the Stanford Mall. If you’re at the Stanford Mall at night, it’s beautiful. The lights are still on and the music still plays, but no one’s there so you can enjoy the moment.

July 25, 2018

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Today I left Ronald McDonald house. It couldn’t be more bittersweet.

For one, the Ronald McDonald house was probably the happiest time of my life. I met a lot of people that I became friends with. They provided a network of support which is hard to leave. Everyday was also an adventure. I could walk across to the mall, get food from the common area, talk to people in the kitchen, or explore downtown Palo Alto.

On the other side, I’m glad to leave. I hate being in the hospital. Leaving means I’m healthy, and I want to be normal again. Even though I’ll have a hard time being “normal” again once school starts, I will be.

I’ll always remember my time at the Ronald McDonald house. I’ve met so many people that had amazing stories. I’ll always keep them in my mind.