TRAVEL FROM HELL
Stepping outside that building was such a good feeling I almost cried . After 16 days and endless setbacks you almost wonder if you ’ re ever getting out or if more bs will happen . I remember how nice the cool fresh air was compared to the hot , humid , stale little room I had sat in . I remember adjusting my eyes from white HD light to natural evening light and the size of the open landscape . Andy had a beer ready for me and I cracked it , not caring about the mix of antibiotics or pain meds just to sip and take the edge off . I sat there and soaked it in a little longer , telling an interested military guy next to me at the bus stop about my spider bite journey while I waited for the car to pull up . We finally left , went home , had Chinese takeout and I slept like a bear for 10 hours . I am forever grateful for the help that family gave me . The food , the pickup , the delivery to the airport and helping with my gear bag . They are my English family .
TRAVEL FROM HELL
That ’ s right , it ’ s not over or about to go smoothly . One more test lay in front of me . The doctor said the altitude pressure could cause more inflammation in my leg and I should wait a few days before flying but I could not care less at this point . Beyond this , my good friends from HK Army had so generously offered to help me get a flight out the day after I was released from the hospital , with as few stops as possible and extra leg room . These guys were saviors , helping me after I had missed my return flight weeks ago , just trying to make things less stressful on me . They are brothers who I am forever indebted to , and I was not about to miss the flight they booked .
But this test , although painful was more a test of patience . I ’ d have to deal with a 10-hour flight back to Orlando , followed by another hour flight to Miami , followed by a five-hour drive home alone back up to Tampa . The seat was about as good as it gets without being first class , and we had movie screens and meals every few hours . I had painkillers that I was willing to finish to get through this long flight . But behind me sat a pathetically soft backboned father and two 5-7 year old kids that did not stop screaming at each other for nine straight hours .
Finally this flight comes into the Orlando area , and of course there is a Florida thunderstorm . It doesn ’ t even look bad out the window and I ’ ve been on flights that land in storms before , but this pilot and five others we are taxiing behind refuse to land till it improves . We circle for an hour and then due to the long overseas flight run out of fuel and have to get rerouted to Tampa . I am now at the airport in my own backyard , and can ’ t get off the plane because we are refueling and returning to