It's probably true that at any given moment I can think of places I'm glad I'm not. But sometimes that feeling looms larger on my emotional landscape than others, this being one of those moments. I am so glad I'm not working up in Chicago with my employer. I was at the airport Tuesday night helping her and her friend and one of her nurses get ready to get on a plane and left them in fairly good shape - wheel chair all dismantled and wrapped and ready to stow.
This morning I woke up to find missed calls, voice mails and texts on my phone. Seems when they got to Chicago and put the chair back together it didn't work properly so Tanisha went someplace to complain and try to get help with that while the other two went down to get the baggage. When they reunited at the transport van with all their beaucoup bags and paraphenalia they all thought they had all their luggage. But no, the one most necessary overweight suitcase full of medical supplies for taking care of a quadriplegic in a motel room was MISSING. Big problem. They didn't discover it until later at the motel and it wasn't pretty.
At some point around 2 am Tanisha called the paramedics thinking they would certainly want to go hunt for her suitcase (I guess the thinking is that they would be avoiding a medical emergency and not have to come later???). Cathy, her LPN who wasn't really crazy about the idea of going on this trip in the first place, was ready to take her suitcase and start walking home to Florida. Midway Airport baggage service doesn't answer the phone after 10, nor does Airtran so there were no real people they could talk to so calling me was the next best thing, I guess. (Yeah, I know it doesn't really follow. I don't get it either.) So my first free morning was spent on the phone leaving messages for "unavailable" attendants in every location I could think of and waiting to see if they ever listen to them. Tanisha finally called me around 8:30, sounding absolutely catatonic. I don't think she slept at all. And from the look on Joy's face when she skyped me later, she didn't get any sleep either. The phone conversation with Tanisha had so many long silences that I didn't know what to do with, but didn't dare hang up on, that I actually felt sorry for her. To make her feel better I told her I would go down to the Sarasota airport and see if I could find someone with some influence to help find her bag. About half way there I got a call from Midway saying they had the bag and just needed to clear up some needed paperwork and get it delivered. Sigh of relief.
I know there's no reason for me to feel guilty, since I had nothing to do with all this trouble, but I know the others are wishing I were there instead of them, and as I said, I am so glad I'm not. Tanisha is not keen on seeing how little she can survive with. However, I know she's probably going to be okay because the last thing she said on the phone to me was "Could you please mail my nightshirts that didn't get packed, and while you're out getting them would you also give the cats their pills and comb them." Yes, send the paramedics back to the station. She's not on her deathbed yet. I'm just sayin'...
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