For your viewing pleasure today, “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue, from the mid 1980’s back when the heavy metal groups did those “power ballads”. And yes believe it or not, there was a period of time when I did enjoy a little heavy metal music. Now that is something you probably didn’t know about me. A little head banging is good for the soul every now and then.
So I made it back. It was a long road and long journey but well worth it. It all started on September 29th, at about 5:30 in the morning. That is when my driver, Alexey arrived to take me to the airport. It was a bit odd to be leaving at this early hour. No one was up, and I had said all my good byes the day before. But it was time to go and my friend Barbie had arrived, so it was time to go. I did run to the nurses office to say good bye to one of the nurses. She did give me a hug and yes, I did cry just a little.
I was all packed and ready to go home. Someone wanted to make sure I did not leave him behind! Don’t worry Olaf. I got your back.
Alexey got us to the airport in what seemed like no time. When I mentioned that, he laughed and pointed out that it was because I had slept the whole way. He was very kind and took us into the terminal, and got us checked into our flight. He also made sure they had a wheelchair for me. He stayed with us until the wheelchair arrived. Wheelchair? Yes, I used a wheelchair and I have to admit I really did need it. After all, I did just have hight dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. I was a bit worn down, and it did seem a bit more difficult to get around.
Since we did get to the airport early, we got to go sit in the Singapore Air lounge. That I have to admit was very nice. My wheelchair escort left us there and promised to be back in time to get us for our flight. The lounge provided all the food and drink you could possibly want. Sadly I was not able to enjoy any of the food they offered in the lounge, but Barbie could. I did have a coke. It was at this point that I realized that Barbie really did come prepared to take care of me all of the way home. She had brought her own paper plates, plastic glasses and utensils and straws. She didn’t trust me eating anything off of dishes someone else had touched that might be germy.
We spent some time in the lounge. All I could have pretty much was a coke. It seemed like a great idea since I hadn’t had one in about two weeks. Turns out Olaf wanted to get in on this action too!
As you can see from the photo, Barbie brought along straws, plates and all the supplies a person with no immune system might need to avoid germs! The Coke seemed like a great idea, but I have to admit after 30 days of chemotherapy and all the other drugs they gave me, it really didn’t taste very good at all. I am told this might last a couple of months. So for now I am enjoying spicier foods because that is all that really tastes good to me.
When it came time for us to go to the plane, my wheelchair escort did in fact come back. He wheeled me to the security area, where I assumed they would have me get out of the chair and go through either the metal detector or scanner. I was wrong about that. When I tried to get up at the security check point, about four people all started waving their hands at me. Apparently they wanted me to stay put in my chair. They wheeled me through the metal detector with my purse and carry on bag. All they did was “pat down” my legs. And lets just be clear, this “pat down” really was someone just brushing their hands down both legs while I held my bag in my lap. Thats it. Then they wheeled me to the plane. The person at the gate took my boarding pass and I was wheeled right on. When we got to the door they wanted to see my boarding pass stub which I could not find. They let me on anyway. I got to my seat and that was it.
So I was a little surprised at what I thought was pretty lax security. They didn’t put either my carry-on or my purse through the x-ray, they didn’t even ask if I could stand for the scanner. So I got onto this plane with nothing more then getting my legs brushed. I was really surprised. Oh and since Barbie was with me, She got through security pretty much the same as I did. We both settled into our seats and prepared for what was going to be a long flight.
I must say they did feed us quite well on Singapore Airlines. I didn’t eat much of it as I was just a little too afraid. But Barbie did and as you can see Olaf was not shy about trying to get a little for himself!
I did eat the ice cream they offered. And yes Olaf tried to get in on that too.
I have to admit I do love Singapore Airlines. And I booked business class for both of us because I thought it was important to be able to sleep, and I thought there would be fewer kids there. It’s not that I don’t like kids. I just know they have a tendency to be sick a lot and I was trying to be cautious. As it turns out, this business class section was about half kids under the age of 5. The joke was on me! Oh well, I tried to just sleep through it. Although the business class does have chairs that convert into beds, it was not what I was expecting. They have to come “convert” your chair for you and it feels like plywood with very thin pad like you would find on a changing table. I felt like I was in a play pen. I did manage to sleep a little and it did help pass the time until we got to Houston.
Finally we landed in Houston and my wheelchair was waiting for me when we landed. That was nice and It allowed us to get off the plane early and through customs and immigration very quickly. This girl who was pushing me whisked us through the airport. We got to use “crew” lines which basically meant no waiting. When we got to immigration, she helped us with the machines and got us to someone with no line. It was great. I have to say, there would have been a lot of walking and had it not been for that chair, I never would have made it. After we got through immigration and customs, we gave our bags to the airline for our next flight and made our way to our gate.
We had a 5 hour layover in Houston. I planned it that way since I had no idea how long it would take to get through customs and immigration. I figured worst case scenario we could spend time in the United lounge. When we landed, I found out my friend Bob, who works for one of the airlines, was at the airport, and was waiting for us at our gate. It was such a nice surprise, and fantastic welcome home to the United States! We chatted for a bit, and then had lunch at one of the airport restaurants. I know what you are thinking, and yes I did eat. But I made sure they cooked it well done and everything was just fine.
My friend Bob met us at the Houston airport and spent the afternoon with us. It was a great surprise!
It was so nice of Bob to come welcome us back. He really didn’t have anything else going on in Houston, but he wanted to be there to welcome us back. I have known him for over 30 years, and it was really nice to see a friendly face when I got off the plane. After lunch we did get a chance to talk for a bit, but then it was time for us to get on our plane, and for Bob to get home. Our final flight to Los Angeles was the shortest about 3 hours.
When we got to Los Angeles, there was no wheelchair waiting, so we waited on the plane until it got there. It took a while but finally arrived. I wasn’t too worried but Barbie was worried about our luggage. When we got to baggage claim, all of the luggage had already come down and there was a guy getting ready to take unclaimed bags. So I guess we made it just in time. When we had our bags, I called Dan who was already on his way. We went outside to the curb and he was there within just a few minutes.
It was so great to see Dan. I gave him a great big hug and kiss and we jumped into the car before the airport police came and yelled at us, When I got home I got to see all of the things Dan had done to make this house ready for me. He had two cleaning crews come in and get it in top notch shape and he hired a house keeper (yippee!). The house looked amazing and I was thrilled. But there was also a little surprise waiting for me that only my Disney friends will get right away. This really was a complete surprise to me!
I came home to a life sized replica of one of the gargoyles from the Haunted Mansion. It is my favorite ride and I love this!
I love this gargoyle and I know Dan went to a lot of trouble to get it for me. It turns out it was offered for sale but there were some problems. Dan was persistent and made sure he got one for me. That is just one of the many reasons I love that man! It really is good to be home. I am getting stronger every day. I can have visitors, if you are not sick. But I do hope to get out more very soon. Home really is great. Remember always, there really is no place like home!
