canoga
04-07-2005, 03:11 PM
Hi guys,
Let me start by saying I'm sorry I asked for help for an upcoming flight then disappeared. My plate has been really full lately.
After a baseline stress test, it was found that my 60yr old, skinny, non-smoking, fish/chicken/rice/veggie eating, active dad had 'some' blockage in his arteries. We were lead to believe it would be remedied with angioplasty.
While having the cath done, they found %90+ blockage in two arteries and ordered emergency bypass surgery. This all happened in about 4 days. I spent an hour Easter morning with my girls then drove down to Lvl for my dad's surgery on Monday morning. At noon the day of his surgery, I left to drive back to Cleveland and pack/make my 9am flight to LA the next day.
I had looked into changing my tickets but Continental informed me that I would have to pay TRIPLE what I paid for *each* original ticket. I decided to either go as planned or cancel if Dad had trouble.
The good news is that my Dad is doing extraordinary. He was released a day early because his post-op recovery was flawless. He is frustrated with continued fatigue and soreness (he is extremely active) but realizes that is a small price to pay for a second shot at life. He was quite literally a walking time bomb. Now, his 'numbers' are that of a 20 yr old. The surgeon said his heart was in mint condition.
Okay, on to my trip report........As you can imagine, I was pretty high on the anxiety scale to begin with. On top of the driving, surgery, packing......I was worried about my mom who was so scared she refused to eat or sleep for 4 days prior to his surgery. I had to take on a role at the hospital I never hope to take on again (Have you ever threatened your mom with forced hospitalization to get her to eat so she wouldn't pass out? Not fun.) I tried to go it alone but ended up calling Huey. As always, he was the voice of reason and was probably the main way I got on the plane.
While boarding, I introduced myself to the FAs and said I was a nervous flier and was mainly afraid of turbulence. They said it would be kinda bumpy as there were some gusty winds in CA. I buckled in and waited for the panic to take hold.
The funny thing is, I never got really afraid. The flight was so smooth, I could have balanced fine china on my head. Maybe one or two 30 second patches of small bumps. Otherwise, it was wonderful. I kept busy with my munchkins and tried to read. The capt also came on and explained that we were going to fly around a t-storm cell and it might be bumpy for 20 minutes. I could have kissed him. Not only did he give me a reason but he also let me know the bumps would be finite. Not to worry, we only bumped once or twice.
The flight was also FAST! We made it out in under 5 hrs. All in all, I dare say the flight was *enjoyable*.
Disneyland was wonderful - gorgeous weather and the girls had a blast. I remember doing a happy dance by the Matterhorn as I called my folks for a check up and they said my Dad was being released early to give up his bed to 'sick' people.
Visiting with Mike's family was also nice. HOWEVER, if I ever see another inch of the 405, it will be too soon. Mike's grandma lives in Valley Village (basically, N Hollywood) and we stayed in Anaheim. Roughly 35 miles. It took us 3.5 freaking hours to get back and forth. Not to mention the portion of the freeway that was closed due to a fatal shooting. I still love SoCal but am beginning to see why DH (who lived there until he was 18) detests the hassle of it all. We did have a nice picnic up in Valencia (north of the city) and that area is breathtaking.
The flight home was as bumpy as the ride out was smooth. Again, I wasn't nervous in the slightest. I was just starting to feel the effects of the prior week and I desperately wanted to nap. Instead, I was awakened every 3 minutes with a bump. The entire way was bumpy. And as a special bonus, we had very rough turb coming into Cleveland - this was the negative G kind where you dropped like a rollercoaster. I will never admit to saying this but I kinda like that kind. I love rollercoasters and if I'm gonna be in turb, I might as well have some fun at it.
All in all, the flights were quite boring. Just the kind I like. I was much less nervous about them - maybe I had just been through so much that I didn't have many nerves left to give. I was pretty tightly wound when I called Huey but he helped me get back down to a manageable level of stress.
I will say I think I am improving. I was nowhere near the level of panicked sobs like my trips of 2-3 yrs ago. I still don't enjoy flying but the stress is getting less and less. Anticipatory anxiety still sucks but the actual flight is not bad.
Beth
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Let me start by saying I'm sorry I asked for help for an upcoming flight then disappeared. My plate has been really full lately.
After a baseline stress test, it was found that my 60yr old, skinny, non-smoking, fish/chicken/rice/veggie eating, active dad had 'some' blockage in his arteries. We were lead to believe it would be remedied with angioplasty.
While having the cath done, they found %90+ blockage in two arteries and ordered emergency bypass surgery. This all happened in about 4 days. I spent an hour Easter morning with my girls then drove down to Lvl for my dad's surgery on Monday morning. At noon the day of his surgery, I left to drive back to Cleveland and pack/make my 9am flight to LA the next day.
I had looked into changing my tickets but Continental informed me that I would have to pay TRIPLE what I paid for *each* original ticket. I decided to either go as planned or cancel if Dad had trouble.
The good news is that my Dad is doing extraordinary. He was released a day early because his post-op recovery was flawless. He is frustrated with continued fatigue and soreness (he is extremely active) but realizes that is a small price to pay for a second shot at life. He was quite literally a walking time bomb. Now, his 'numbers' are that of a 20 yr old. The surgeon said his heart was in mint condition.
Okay, on to my trip report........As you can imagine, I was pretty high on the anxiety scale to begin with. On top of the driving, surgery, packing......I was worried about my mom who was so scared she refused to eat or sleep for 4 days prior to his surgery. I had to take on a role at the hospital I never hope to take on again (Have you ever threatened your mom with forced hospitalization to get her to eat so she wouldn't pass out? Not fun.) I tried to go it alone but ended up calling Huey. As always, he was the voice of reason and was probably the main way I got on the plane.
While boarding, I introduced myself to the FAs and said I was a nervous flier and was mainly afraid of turbulence. They said it would be kinda bumpy as there were some gusty winds in CA. I buckled in and waited for the panic to take hold.
The funny thing is, I never got really afraid. The flight was so smooth, I could have balanced fine china on my head. Maybe one or two 30 second patches of small bumps. Otherwise, it was wonderful. I kept busy with my munchkins and tried to read. The capt also came on and explained that we were going to fly around a t-storm cell and it might be bumpy for 20 minutes. I could have kissed him. Not only did he give me a reason but he also let me know the bumps would be finite. Not to worry, we only bumped once or twice.
The flight was also FAST! We made it out in under 5 hrs. All in all, I dare say the flight was *enjoyable*.
Disneyland was wonderful - gorgeous weather and the girls had a blast. I remember doing a happy dance by the Matterhorn as I called my folks for a check up and they said my Dad was being released early to give up his bed to 'sick' people.
Visiting with Mike's family was also nice. HOWEVER, if I ever see another inch of the 405, it will be too soon. Mike's grandma lives in Valley Village (basically, N Hollywood) and we stayed in Anaheim. Roughly 35 miles. It took us 3.5 freaking hours to get back and forth. Not to mention the portion of the freeway that was closed due to a fatal shooting. I still love SoCal but am beginning to see why DH (who lived there until he was 18) detests the hassle of it all. We did have a nice picnic up in Valencia (north of the city) and that area is breathtaking.
The flight home was as bumpy as the ride out was smooth. Again, I wasn't nervous in the slightest. I was just starting to feel the effects of the prior week and I desperately wanted to nap. Instead, I was awakened every 3 minutes with a bump. The entire way was bumpy. And as a special bonus, we had very rough turb coming into Cleveland - this was the negative G kind where you dropped like a rollercoaster. I will never admit to saying this but I kinda like that kind. I love rollercoasters and if I'm gonna be in turb, I might as well have some fun at it.
All in all, the flights were quite boring. Just the kind I like. I was much less nervous about them - maybe I had just been through so much that I didn't have many nerves left to give. I was pretty tightly wound when I called Huey but he helped me get back down to a manageable level of stress.
I will say I think I am improving. I was nowhere near the level of panicked sobs like my trips of 2-3 yrs ago. I still don't enjoy flying but the stress is getting less and less. Anticipatory anxiety still sucks but the actual flight is not bad.
Beth
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: