When last I wrote I talked about flying being a rather uncivilized method of transportation. The security line was long, but C and I got through fairly quickly as I had the use of a wheelchair. I'm back to not walking, the Charcot foot appears to be making itself known in my right foot now.
Being in the wheelchair and the fact that the airline messed up having it available sped us through the long line. My hands were tested as well as my leg jewelry and I had a cursory pat down.
The flight was quite full with only handful of seats empty, those being center seats where most people don't like to sit because of the squash factor. We left shortly after dawn, and the crowd was quiet and subdued.
The return flight was a red eye which we nearly didn't make. The day before I spent a couple hours in the ER courtesy the Methodist hospital in the St. Louis suburb of Minneapolis. Great people in that ER. They had a glut of folks come in to their 38 bed ER; a number of the folks visiting were using the ER as their doctor office visit; a few had sick babies. Me, I just suddenly starting puking that day. At one point I turned to C and said I don't feel well and he had the sense to grab a waste can. Excellent timing.
A few hours later I repeated the incident, missing the can.That was enough to prompt folks to recommend I hit the urgent care or the ER for fear of dehydration.
And I was slightly dehydrated, so the concerns were well-founded. Thankfully,"the fix" was simple and I was on my way a few hours later.
The cause? That is a big unknown. The sickness came on literally in less than ten seconds. The second go round gave me about sixty seconds. This is all tied together, I am sure of it, with my meds. Currently, I am looking for a gastro doc. I need to get my stomach back in working order so I can continue to support my family in their major life accomplishments, like a beautiful graduation from high school.
They say diabetics end up having a host of disorders, and I'm sure that is true. High sugars damage fine nerves and blood vessels. But, the meds do their own damage as well. So I'm firing my endo doc and looking for a new one of those as well. I need to see someone on a regular basis, not every six months; a doc who isn't going to prescribe me the latest, greatest thing just because it is new. I'm tired of being a guinea pig.
If my blood sugars had been out of whack (and they weren't) or of the kidney test had shown the dehydration was severe, I might be writing this from a Minneapolis hospital and have totally missed the return flight home.
Security wasn't busy, so we didn't get the preferred treatment we'd received when we left, but it wasn't too terrible. I went through the swabbing thing again, and this time had a very thorough pat down. Legs, back, chest. Thankfully there were no crowds.
We boarded first which was nice, but proved unnecessary. The red eye was a third full if that. C and I had a row to ourselves, and once the seatbelt light was off, he was able to snag the entire row in front of us. There were several empty rows. So many that before the flight boarded the desk clerks reassigned seats to redistribute the weight on the plane.
I can't recall that ever happening before...ever.
So it's a midnight flight, pretty empty and we get a jackass on the flight.
Yep, a bonafide jerk. There are, truly, federal regulations that govern certain things like luggage in aisles. And this guy decided his luggage did not have to be under the seat in front of him. The steward politely asked if he would stow his carry-on under the seat in front of him and he initially refused.
The steward politely explained it was federal regulation to keep the aisles clear. He then challenged her on her statement. She repeated herself once more and left, refusing to be engaged by this asshat. Good on her. It seemed pretty obvious to the people around he was trying to grieve the airline grief and maybe get his fifteen minutes of fame by accusing the airline of mistreatment. Asshat.
It's bad enough when something does happen like what happened to the man who was dragged from the plane in Chicago a few months back. The whole thing was horrible. But to try and cause trouble intentionally...?
Oh, and as a little addendum...a lot of people go through the airports with assistance these days. Maybe it's the aging of the baby boomers or what have you, but at both airports were were told that handling the wheelchairs is something that is handled by an outsourced entity serving the airlines. Request it before you check-in so it is in your travel folio. Then stay on top of it the entire process. When we landed, we arrived a half hour early (yea) but waited fifteen minutes for the chair.
With the developing Charcot foot on the other foot now, there was no way for me to navigate the airports without assistance. A year ago I wouldn't have asked. Today, I'm brave enough to ask. Just the wee bit of walking I did out of necessity had my foot balloon and took two days to calm. If you need help ask. It isn't a sign of weakness, if a sign of intelligence.