They are Robert Trevinto (left), and Benny A. Phillips (right), who were stewards on Amtrak's "California Zephyr" train, on which I returned home after delivering a vehicle to California.
This story started in a roundabout way in Arizona. When I left the city of Mesa, I was not feeling quite right, and my condition worsened over the next 18 hours as I neared the drop-off point. I had stopped eating, because my stomach was so queasy, I didn't want to risk making things worse.
When I boarded the Zephyr from Emeryville, CA to Chicago, IL, I vaguely remember Robert taking my ticket, which is to say, I was extremely ill at this point, barely upright, and as such, I decided to remain in my sleeper and hope that rest would get rid of whatever it was. Nothing doing.
Robert and a couple of other crew members checked in on me several times during that day and evening for dining car accommodations, which I refused, as my stomach was steadily getting worse.
The next day, I did make one attempt and did not even make it to placing my order. That evening, Robert was beginning to notice something was wrong. By this time, despite having a fever and being wrapped in a blanket, I was getting bad chills and violently shivering in misery in my sleeper, feeling as though I were going to die.
He asked at first if I wanted to call paramedics or go to a hospital at the next stop, but it was out of the question. I knew I didn't have enough money to cover rescheduling the rest of my return trip, as it would likely cost more than originally. I already knew that I have frequently recurring acid reflux, which is likely what brought the problem on in the first place.
A severe enough attack, if left unchecked and untreated, can eventually eat through the stomach lining and into other organs. It was either possibly not make it home alive, or not make it home at all if I sought medical attention.
When Robert began talking to another steward, Bennie, we determined that I had made a mistake by drinking apple juice on a near-empty stomach, as apple juice has acids in it that are hard on the system even under normal circumstances, which I did not know. Bennie suggested cranberry juice, as it had a slightly different composition and was easier on the internals, and set about getting me some chicken broth as well.
After alternately nursing cranberry juice and chicken broth gingerly for an hour and a half, Bennie also graciously gave me a couple of Tylenol PM for the fever, and 30 minutes later, I was resting comfortably and made a feeble attempt at breakfast the next day, which is to say I was unable to risk much more than yogurt and juice.
At lunch, I asked Robert if he could simply bring some broth and yogurt to my sleeper, as I did not want to inconvenience anyone else in the dining car, and I was pretty sure these were all I would be able to handle for awhile. I WAS, however, feeling quite a bit better than the night before. I actually was able to get up and move around a bit, snapping some photos of what remained of the scenic part of the route, salvaging some part of the fun of the trip.
In summary, Robert and Bennie not only made my trip a lot more comfortable than it would have been, they likely may have saved my life. These fellows took extremely good care of me, and looked out for me more than they really had to, and being in the service industry myself, I know that it is extremely rare to find people THAT devoted to customer service. I would ride on ANY train if these fellows were serving me. If you ride Amtrak and are fortunate enough to have these guys serve you, take good care of them, because I can assure you, they will definitely take good care of you.
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