Friday, September 28, 2012

Series of Unfortunate Events: Chapter 4: Mom Saves the Day!


Welcome!  If you're new...you might check out why I'm writing this story in the first place.  Click here for more information on that.... 

 On with the story...you'll recall that the doctor has just told me that I need a blood transfusion--which I don't even know what that is, I am panicked, but my mom is planning to fly out to help me...

So it’s Homecoming week in Hampton.  My dad is working the football game and the dance until midnight or 1:00, meanwhile my mom is getting up as he getting home to leave to go to the Cedar Rapids airport.  Her flight left at 6:00 am so I was expecting her to arrive at my apartment by about 10:00 because she’d lose an hour on the way out.

I will never forget when the doorman called to buzz my mom in.  I practically screamed “Yes, let her in!!!!!!!!!”  When she finally made it up to my apartment, I just started sobbing.  MY MOM WAS FINALLY HERE AND COULD TAKE CARE OF ME!!!!!!  YAY!!!!  She came prepared too!  She brought homemade chicken noodle soup in baggies and Kix (the cereal that I was craving—strange). 

She did the best she could to make me comfortable, and we rested that day and waited for my roommates to come back from their retreat in upstate New York.  (I’m pretty sure she cleaned the bathroom too, which desperately needed it.  Talk about unconditional love right there). 

The next day she had to physically help me wash my hair and get me dressed.  I could hardly move for lack of energy.  When I did move, my stomach rumbled like a freight train was running through (and then you can probably imagine what came after that). 

It took us nearly 20 minutes to make it from my apartment, down the hall, into the elevator, and out the street to hail a cab.  We were lugging most of my luggage because I had made it clear that I was NOT going back so that was interesting trying to haul all that luggage with only one healthy person.  The taxi ride was completely miserable—have you ever heard of a smooth taxi in NYC? Ha.  I just prayed I wouldn’t crap my pants or throw up.  Thankfully I did neither.  It felt like the total trip home was in slow motion and all I wanted was to get home to my own bed.  Little did we know what a long day of travel we still had ahead of us!

Upon going through security (with me in a wheelchair by the way which I both hated because I’m prideful and loved because I was so darn sick—quite the mix of emotions), my mom was stopped and searched with the wand.  She was absolutely thrilled about that by the way, let me tell you!  From LaGuardia we flew into Chicago O’Hare, which we had tried to avoid but it was impossible.  We then rode the “old person electronic cart” to our next gate which was seriously in another zip code.  I don’t know what we would have done without that cart.  I got some nasty glares by the elderly but I wrote them off.  I was just that sick.  I probably glared back. Who knows…I couldn’t have walked more than 10 feet.

Once we made it to our gate, I of course decided I was finally hungry and that a bagel sounded good.  Given that it was now about 2:00 in the afternoon, this was a slightly difficult request to make.  My mom was in “mom mode” though and it didn’t matter what I asked for—she would have found it.  She went off and quickly came back with a bagel sandwich loaded with nasty cheese, garlic, and tomatoes—oh my goodness. I about lost it.  I politely (not really) refused to eat it and asked her to go find just a plain bagel.  About a half hour—she seriously had to walk that far—she came back with a bagel for me and it tasted heavenly.  Thanks Mom for the bagel. 

I was worried about her being late for our flight, but I shouldn’t have worried for a minute because it continued to get delayed.  For 5 hours, we sat in the O’Hare airport.  I eventually made a makeshift bed on the ground and slept with my fever raging and stomach rumbling. 

Finally, about 7:00 we got on the plane and sat and sat on the tarmac.  We did not arrive to Cedar Rapids until at least 10:00 that night.  Then, we still had a 2+ hour drive home to Hampton.  It was heavenly to walk into my own house, hug my dad, and crawl into my own bed. 

Timeout:  I should also note that MK was a part of all of this, but this sickness did put a damper on our relationship for a while.  I was really not a friendly person at this point.  I was so absorbed in my own sickness from just not feeling well, that we talked every day, but he was gracious to give me my space.  We were just dating and getting to know one another at this point, and he was aware that at this moment in time I just needed my momma…I can’t thank him enough for being sooo extremely patient with me.  If anything I learned what a keeper I had in him!!! How did I get so lucky blessed??

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