Leaving Seattle

I have avoided writing the conclusion of my Seattle trip for awhile. And now enough time has passed that I can't remember all the details and my memory is shot as it is...... So here we go:

The final day I was there was spent trying to get authorizations shoved through the system so I could have some tests performed right there at the mother ship. I called in a favor from the Group Health Transplant Director, who really wowed me. This time it was the SCCA system that didn't move fast enough. But the day was stressful because I checked out of the hotel but wasn't sure if I would need to stay an extra day. I'm making calls, others are making calls, and my phone is ringing off the hook as all the necessary parts can come together. Fortunately, my buddy Paul was willing to put up with me and when it looked like it wouldn't happen, he drove in to Seattle to give me a ride to the airport.

I had hoped to have a little better of a visit with him. We worked together at Coldwell Banker here in Spokane. He is one of those people who just naturally attracts people to him. I have looked up to him and admired him for years. But as things go, our time together was minimized to the drive to the airport. What I have definitely learned is to not attempt to make cancer trips also social trips. When at SCCA, your schedule and time are definitely not your own. And I get in this weird zone, and it is clearly antisocial. I always think it will be different, but it's not.

At the airport, I get to the gate to ask if I could possibly take a later flight or a flight tomorrow IF my procedure is scheduled. All the gate agent needed to see was my green card and my carry-on full of medicine and medical supplies. My flight leaves and I start my final calls, as cancer world closes at 5:00p. I came home on the next flight.

The stress and weight of the trip lifts off my shoulders as the plane takes off. I don't want a window seat. I don't need to see the city that is now rather associated with bad things. I read my magazine and try to let it all go. I must leave as much of cancer world behind me when I get home.

When I pull up to the house and am greeted by my husband and kids with big kisses and hugs, Seattle seems much farther away and much longer ago. This is where I live and where my life is. They are not necessarily the same. But I am home.