Although it has been only 10 days since my surgery, it seems like months. For the past week-plus, I have been walking around with umpteen stitches in my left side, and a drain to get rid of those nasty bodily fluids seeping from my incision. This drain is a plastic tube with a small collection bulb at the end, and I have had to sleep on my back and keep this contraption in check, lest I yank it out prematurely. In other words, this situation stinks. That little bulb has to be hidden everywhere I go - I do not wish to gross people out at the supermarket by revealing a rubber hose full of...well, you get the idea.
And so, the day has finally come to make that long journey back to Manhattan to get the stitches out and that tube removed. Again, I thank God for my children, for daughter Annie has insisted that she drive her Mom and I back to NYC this trip. And I thank God, too, for Dr. Zampell, who has graciously offered to meet us at the hospital on Labor Day to do the work. I think she lives in Manhattan, and I find out after the fact that she had to walk for 30 minutes to do this little job, on one of her few days off.
Anyway, we leave our little abode and head for Annie's house. We have to be on the road by 9 AM so that Dr. Zampell can meet us around 11 AM at the VA. After the usual "meet & greet" with the son-in-law, grand-kids and two overly-rambunctious dogs, we egress to the driveway, where Annie has prepared our ride - a Jeep Wrangler!! Uh! Annie, the JEEP? "Sure! I thought it would be nice to drive over with the top down, and it gets a lot better gas mileage than the SUV!" Well, I will agree with her on the mileage issue, but the topless thing... BUT - I love my kids, and I am overly-appreciative of their offers to drive me back and forth the 100 miles to Manhattan. And I will not rain on her parade this morning (a prophetic choice of words!), and so I amiably chuckle and say "I'm game, Annie! Let 'er rip!" And about 15 minutes later, we are on the road, headed for parts east.
We haven't even reached highway speeds yet, but I am now certain that the "top down" call was a poor choice. I wear hearing aids, and I'm sitting in the back seat - Annie and her Mom are up front - and all I can hear is a load roar as the wind hits me in the face and ruins my good-hair day. And so I meekly remark that "maybe we should put the top up before we get out on the highway!" No problem! We pull over at the gas station to top off the tank and get some joe for the road, and Annie gets the top back in place. Ah! Much better. Now let me describe what this means exactly: this is a Jeep Wrangler Sport - it is a 2-door, soft-top convertible with a nice back seat. The doors have roll-up windows, and aside from that and the windshield, that's all the glass there is, Jack! With the top up, there is not a lot of wind blowing me around in the back seat, but there are no sides, nor back, to the area. Well, I think, not bad, not bad at all. The Jeep is fun to ride in, and Annie loves to drive it, so we're all happy campers. I sit back and listen to the wind rushing through the back - the only thing I can hear, because my hearing aids have turned into little white-noise generators. I look forward, and can tell that Annie and her Mom are chatting merrily away, because their lips are moving. Every once in awhile, I guess that Annie is addressing me because she turns slightly and smiles at me. I just nod and smile back...I have absolutely no idea what she is saying. Ah! Ignorance is bliss!
As we drive along, it seems like the sky is getting a bit overcast. The weather was mild when we left the Lehigh Valley, but as we head into New Jersey, I look ahead and see clouds hugging the tops of the mountains. Oh, well...good thing we put that top up, 'cause it might even rain! And then it gets darker...and darker, and then the drops start hitting the windshield. Yes! It's very good that we put the top up! But those little drops start turning into BIG drops, and before we know it, we're in the middle of a deluge! Everyone is doing 25 miles per, and the 4-ways are flashing! And I start realizing that putting that top up wasn't going to do a whole lot of good anymore! At first, I felt a few errant drops hitting me from behind - oh, yeah! There's no rear window! And as we continue, more and more rain comes in from behind. Now I'm getting more than a little wet! Well, at least there's no rain coming in from the non-existant sides! WRONG! As we pass one of many 18-wheelers on the highway, about 500 gallons of this liquid sunshine make their way into my back seat shower stall. I am now in what I would call a "cold sauna" - the humidity in the Jeep is around 200% and climbing! Feeling bad for myself, I look forward into the front seats, and the dash is covered in H2O. The steering wheel is sopping wet! There is a roll bar above me, and it is dripping water like a leaky hose! Oops! And there goes another semi, and I watch his wheels as we pass, and I cannot believe the amount of water he's picking up from the road, and "re-assigning" it to the back seat of this Jeep!
And Annie, sweet Annie, who wanted so much to drive her Jeep on this trip, keeps turning to me and apologizing profusely for running me through this 70 mile-an-hour car wash! I can imagine what she sees as she looks into the back seat, and I feel so bad for her. She didn't know what the weather was going to be when we left, and as far as I can tell, she and her Mom aren't much better off than I am...the entire Jeep is one big rain forest. But to tell the truth, I am a little wet...well, more than a little wet...but I feel sorry for Annie, because she is feeling so bad about this, and there is nothing she could have done. And so I sit back there and joke about forgetting my Dial soap, and wondering why I forgot my dive mask and how I won't have to take a shower when we get home. And I am really not having a bad time. I have been looking at all of these trips as little adventures - even when JT dropped me off at the hospital before my surgery. I have had the opportunity to bond with my kids in every one of these events, and I count them all as blessings, even this one. Jen is up there, talking to her daughter, Annie is having fun driving her Jeep, and we're all more or less wet and laughing about it. So I'm a little moist? What I keep remembering is that this will probably be my last trip to NYC, and that trumps any inconvenience I may be experiencing right now. Yeah, I'm wet. But I'm happy! Last trip to NYC, and I'm with two of my favorite people - my wonderful wife and my daughter. It's a good trip.
And we arrive alive at the VA hospital at just after 11AM. Annie is exhibiting the best driving I have ever seen in this city traffic! We come in through the Lincoln Tunnel, and she maneuvers that little Jeep in and out of the mess that is E. 42nd Street. This Jeep, I might remind you, is a 5-speed stick, but Annie shifts effortlessly up and down, and before we know it, we're here. I give all of our good fortunes to the Lord, so when Annie pulls up and there is not only a parking space available out front, it is also free because of the holiday. Thank you, Lord. We go inside, get through the security and wait for Dr. Z, who shows up a few minutes later. Jen and Annie settle in the lobby while the doctor takes me up to the 4th floor to look at her work and remove the sutures and drain. She is very pleased at what she sees, and lets me know that everything looks great, and the next visit should be in 2-3 months. Next visit?? After a short consult, it looks like I may be able to do any and all follow-ups at either the Allentown or Wilkes-Barre facilities, so for all intents and purposes, I ain't goin' back to Manhattan.
In less than an hour, we're back on the road. The traffic inbound was a piece of cake compared to the way out, but we are on I-95 headed back to I-78 and PA once again. It's very hazy in NYC, and stays that way as we motor into Jersey. Ah! My stitches are out, the drain is gone, and all is right with the world. Eighty more miles or so, and we'll be back home. There is only one little problem - that storm that drenched us on the way over has decided to wait for our return. As we cruise along, we can see the same clouds hanging over the landscape and then the raindrops start hitting the windshield again. Well, I think, the roof is still up! And then we're getting pounded and soaked once more. Only this time, we're laughing through the whole thing. Hey! Been there, done that! Got the slicker! And then it's over and we're in clear weather once more. And Annie is once more apologetic for putting me through all of this, but I tell her that it isn't anyone's fault, and that it will make a great story for my blog. After the last 2 months of doctors, hospitals, Manhattan and a major surgery, ain't nothing going to bother me now. I tell Jen that Annie could have taken us to NYC in a rickshaw, and I would have been appreciative. I am so proud of all of my kids for being there for us when we moved, and for being there for me especially during this whole medical situation.
Thank you, Annie! And rest assured, there is nothing to apologize for. We have to make life fun, and you just gave me one heck of a fun ride. What's next?
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