Our Weekend With Lance - Part 13

Friday – October 20th

Today we are going home! Come hell or high water, we're outta here!

Dr. A stops by … still concerned about Jimmy's vasovagal syncope, but he's glad to hear that he has not passed out since Wednesday morning. Dr. A reviews hip precautions and he's off to perform more surgery.

Roland and Danielle stop by … We get a picture of them with Jimmy. Roland reviews hip precautions and assures Jimmy he'll do just fine.

I give Jimmy a quick sponge bath, brush teeth and then up and dressed. He's moving around so much better. We all think that it wasn't until Wednesday afternoon, when he turned the corner in his PT, that all the drugs from surgery and his IV morphine pump were out of his system. He's only taking Darvocet for pain so he's doing pretty well with that.

Susan, our social worker, comes in and we get to chat for a bit while waiting for the wheel chair van. We had a minor concern when it was thought that I would have to have separate transportation from Jimmy, but Susan got it all worked out and I was allowed to ride in the wheel chair van up front with the driver.

Our flight was at 3:55 pm – arriving at BWI at 7:55 pm. The kids were picking us up in ds Matt's Grande Jeep Cherokee, which had the best height & length for Jimmy to sit in of all the vehicles we have. We started to get anxious when the wheel chair van didn't show up at 12:30 p.m. as previously scheduled. Then it was 12:45 pm … then 1:00 p.m. … then 1:15 pm. Then Susan got on the phone and started kicking some major butt! Voila! A wheel chair van appeared at 1:25 pm. We loaded Jimmy up in the wheel chair … rolled him out to the van and loaded him in the back. I loaded the luggage, his walker and climbed up front with the driver. Jimmy is a little uncomfortable because the wheelchair was not tall enough for him. He has those damned long bird legs and he doesn't fit into normal size things, one being the wheelchair. Margie, our wheel chair van driver, locks everything down on Jimmy's wheel chair and off we go!

We're driving down the highway towards the airport and every so often the van goes over a bump and I hear a groan from the back. I can't look – I'm chicken … I just know Jimmy's turning gray. If he passes out … we'll never get home. We hit one big bump and Jimmy yelps! Margie is doing the best she can, but there is so much construction on the highways, you can't avoid some of those irregularities in the road.

Margie zips up to DEPARTING at the Southwest curb check in. I jump out and grab my purse and wait in line. There are 2 families of 5-6 people in each and a couple of young women traveling together. Oy Vey! 20 minutes later, I finally get my turn … given the ticket agent our tickets, our licenses and point to Jimmy by the wheel chair van. Margie has gotten him out of the back and now he needs to transfer to an airport wheelchair. I ask the ticket agent if there is someone who can help us and he calls a nice young lady, Karen, over.

Karen helps Jimmy get in the wheel chair and tells me to grab the luggage and check it in. I slip Karen a big tip and thank her for her help. The ticket agent takes the luggage, I grab my purse and off we go … Karen is pushing Jimmy through the terminal so fast, I can hardly keep up. He's flying … and if he had hair, it'd be blowing in the wind! I know he's so afraid she's going to ram him into something, but she gets him to the security check safe and sound. He has to be hand checked, and Karen hustles me over to the metal detectors. It really pisses off all the people waiting in line while she takes me to the head of the line, grabs a plastic basket for me to put my purse and shoes in … and we jump up next in line. I'm through lickety-split and over by Jimmy before I know it. Whew … My head is spinning. I can hardly keep up with this girl! Karen runs over and grabs the wheel chair and off we go again … zooming down the corridor to Southwest gate. We get to a set of benches near a terminal door. There are about 50 people standing in a que, but we get to sit on nice chairs, trying to catch our breath. We say goodbye to Karen and off she goes …

While we take a breath … I realize that the people standing in the que are waiting for the same plane we're waiting for. But we get to sit. A few minute later, a gentleman from Southwest comes over and says that they will board Jimmy first so he had have the first row. Wow! This is great! We should travel with a wheel chair more often!! (just kidding)

A few minutes later we get the okay and the gentleman waves us over. Jimmy holds my purse and I push Jimmy down the ramp to the airplane. We get him out and they take his walker, storing it in the back of the plane. We get him comfy – sitting on 2 pillows on his chair so he has the proper angle of his hip/leg. The plane boards quickly and soon we're taxing down the runway … and TAKEOFF!

Jimmy has left Austin!