Cancer patients enjoy fancy rides to treatment

AUSTIN ? When David Woodruff arrived at St. David?s North Austin Medical Center on a recent May morning, the hospital staff and patients in the parking lot had to pick their jaws up off the pavement.

It wasn?t Woodruff, an unassuming retired photographer dressed in slacks and a white button-down shirt, who drew their attention. It was how he got to the hospital that day ? in a new, dark gray Rolls-Royce Ghost Extended Wheelbase. It?s impossible not to notice the long, elegant sedan with its huge grille and signature ?Spirit of Ecstasy? hood ornament depicting a woman in a billowing dress.

Ken Adams stepped out from behind and opened Woodruff?s door. Woodruff went in for his treatment with a grin on his face.

This was Adams? goal when he created Your Ride is Here, a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization devoted to getting cancer patients to their treatments on time and in high style.

An avid ?car guy? and racing fan with an infectious laugh, the Dell project manager first came up with the idea when he was battling cancer about three years ago.

When he left his chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Adams would see patients waiting on rides from friends, taxi cabs or city buses. Dealing with cancer is hard enough without having to worry about transportation, he said.

?I wanted to give back,? Adams, 48, said. ?I said, ?Let?s figure out a way to get people from point A to point B.??

At first he contemplated a limousine or shuttle service, but then he decided that wasn?t very exciting.

Instead, he reached out to friends and fellow Austin-area racing aficionados, many of whom own exotic luxury and sports cars, and his friend Sonny Morgan, the dealer principal at John Eagle European in North Austin. Morgan?s dealership has lent many of the cars used to take patients to treatments, and volunteers have used their own cars as well.

The result: A patient who has been referred to Your Ride is Here may show up at a hospital or treatment center in an Aston Martin, a Bentley, a Mini Cooper, a BMW M5, a Ford GT, a vintage Camaro, or in at least one case, an ultra-rare Enzo Ferrari.

The program has grown beyond Adams? wildest expectations, he said. They now have more than 130 volunteers and have expanded to Houston, where they will work with the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Volunteers have joined from area car clubs and Formula One watch parties, he said, and many of them have been affected by cancer in some way in their own lives.

Adams said they plan on expanding into other cities, such as Washington, Chicago and San Francisco.

?I thought I would give a few rides and be done,? Adams said. ?I guess that?s not the plan God had for me.?

Patients are referred to Your Ride is Here by social workers, Adams said. The group operates solely on donations and volunteer drivers.

Woodruff, who took photographs and edited videos for the Austin Police Department, was diagnosed with brain cancer in November. Two months ago he had successful brain surgery and has been doing well with follow-up treatments, he said.

The only problem, he said, is that his eyesight has been affected by his condition, and he cannot drive. His girlfriend has to work, so she can?t always take him in for treatments, Woodruff said. Your Ride is Here has given him several trips.

?It works great,? Woodruff said. ?You?re in and out and home. You don?t have to wait on buses or cabs.?

The trip to St. David?s in May was his first time in a Rolls-Royce.

This particular Ghost, on loan from John Eagle European, featured a limousine-like interior with lambs-wool carpeting, two television screens in the front seat, hand-stitched leather and plenty of legroom. A 563-horsepower, V-12 engine quietly powers a car that rides so smoothly, it?s nearly impossible to feel railroad tracks and other bumps in the road.

Count Woodruff as a fan. ?This is the way to travel, isn?t it?? he said.

Adams said he?s ecstatic to see the program expand and receive such positive feedback. He said that it?s one example of how much better his life is after cancer - his fight with the disease taught him to appreciate what?s really important in life, as well as the joy of helping other people.

?This whole program has changed my life,? he said. ?Ask anyone involved. They?ve gotten as much back from it as I have.?

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