I have missed not posting a blog this week, but I was traveling home Tuesday with all good intentions to write said blog, and wound up spending 11 and a half hours in the airport, instead. Bruce and I, like so many on the early morning flight, were awake at the crack of dawn to arrive at the airport, drop off our rental car, catch a cup of coffee and wait to board. Barely noticing people waiting with us, we were happy to see old friends, and after hugs and kisses all around, we settled in our seats and put on our seat belts. Flight attendants did their prep talk, engines sounded, wheels began moving, and then…well, then the misery began! Instead of arriving home from a 2 hour and a few minute trip at 11:30 a.m., we arrived home close to midnight…exhausted and weary, and as anyone who travels knows, incredibly aware of our lack of control in this situation.
Travel is not easy in the best of circumstances, and since everything seems to rely upon computers, our vocabulary now includes “glitches,” “lack of communication between one computer and another,” and “rebooting,” which doesn’t always get the job done. I do not wish to bore you with the details, but I will say that, unfortunately, we are at the mercy of an industry that does not seem to want to be transparent. Getting clear, valid and up-to-date information must be the job of the traveler, rather than the gate agents, airline representatives or Help Desks. Each tell another tale, and in their defense, don’t seem to have any idea what the other is saying, doing or reporting.
We did the best we could to stay calm, and by the time we fly again, hopefully we will just think of this week as a memory, and hope it doesn’t happen again…for a long while. But here is the important message for my readers, particularly those with an ostomy or any health issue:
Our friend was flying north for a few reasons, not the least of which was a medical test. If you are in that situation, be sure you can reschedule your test or appointment with doctor in this scenario in a timely fashion. If not, perhaps flying a day early is key. When I went to the Mayo Clinic, I left two days ahead, since I had waited for the appointment for so long.
If you have medical supplies, be sure they are in your carryon, as well as meds, since 11 hours may mean missing a dosage or needing to change a pouch. I can’t stress enough that anxiety is heightened anyway, and having to go searching for luggage to get out supplies is only going to make things worse.
Bring food that you can tolerate, particularly if you have allergies or react, as I do, to stress. Although the airport was filled with offerings, my intestine react by going into spasm, and there were very few things that would sit well for me. I was worried that I would have a blockage, and that eliminated so much for me to eat. And not eating is not good for us, either. A true conundrum! I had to rely upon my creativity, and buy sandwiches, take off the bread, which would only clump in my spastic intestines, add to vegetables, etc., etc. Fortunately, there were vouchers offered by the airlines, because my meager lunch and dinner wound up costing as much as an ala carte steak meal at Ruth’s Chris Steak House!
Please do not think this was all miserable…we caught up with our friends and about those we have in common, met many warm and interesting people, laughed a lot at the pure absurdity of hearing different things from different sources, bonded as we got on the (very, very) late flight, and all around, were grateful to be safe and home. And by the way, one of the adorable young ladies on the trip arranged a Pilates/Barre class with an instructor in the group, and it felt quite awesome to stretch, stretch, stretch those weary muscles that had been sitting all day. You see, I told you…making lemonade out of lemons. Hoping not to be in that situation for a long time, but traveling is the Great Equalizer, so do your best to remain calm…optimistic? Maybe not!
As always written perfectly
Love your blog