Flying vs. driving
The past few days I've been doing some research on how this whole out-of-state surgery is going to work. I'm concerned about how my family members are going to get to the hospital from the hotel and how the heck we're going to travel home when I'm all gimped up.
I think these are the first issues I need to tackle so my family can start making plans as to who's coming to the hospital, how and when.
The idea of flying after surgery is not appealing. I mean, even though air travel is normally such a joy ... with the crowds, long waits, security lines and tiny airplane seats ... all those things tend to scare me when I know I'll be in a lot of pain and have the walking ability of a 13-month-old. Looks like flying will take between six and seven hours (if the flight's on time) while driving would take about 11 hours, but also be less stressful and less expensive.
There are a lot of other pros for driving as well: not needing a rental car in Tacoma, no hassle in booking a return trip home, the ability to haul large equipment back home (continuous passive motion machine, walker), being able to scream/cry/moan with pain/annoyance without bothering thousands of random strangers.
Not going to make this decision at this moment, or by myself, but I hope to get some feedback from my family over Christmas so we can get a plan in place in the next month or so.
I think these are the first issues I need to tackle so my family can start making plans as to who's coming to the hospital, how and when.
The idea of flying after surgery is not appealing. I mean, even though air travel is normally such a joy ... with the crowds, long waits, security lines and tiny airplane seats ... all those things tend to scare me when I know I'll be in a lot of pain and have the walking ability of a 13-month-old. Looks like flying will take between six and seven hours (if the flight's on time) while driving would take about 11 hours, but also be less stressful and less expensive.
There are a lot of other pros for driving as well: not needing a rental car in Tacoma, no hassle in booking a return trip home, the ability to haul large equipment back home (continuous passive motion machine, walker), being able to scream/cry/moan with pain/annoyance without bothering thousands of random strangers.
Not going to make this decision at this moment, or by myself, but I hope to get some feedback from my family over Christmas so we can get a plan in place in the next month or so.
Comments
I know this is a hard decision but please keep the following in mind while you think through it.
1. This surgery and recovery is all about you. And your family will understand that.
2. You need to do whatever is best for your recovery and sometimes that means there will be extra cost involved.
3. Ask others online ( such as the yahoo support group) their thoughts on which is the best way to travel home. I didn't have to go far. But even thinking about 11 hours in a car now, 6 weeks after surgery, doesn't sound comfortable or fun at all.
My thoughts after having had the surgery, take the fastest route home. 11 hours sounds like an awfully long time to sit in a car after surgery. I would highly recommend flying. It will cost more but in the long run your comfort and pain level is most important thing. So that is my 2 cents.
I wish you good luck and patience with your surgery. After having gone to high school in Denver I can understand wanting to be active again because Colorado is so beautiful. If you would like to talk you can always find me on my blog.
All the best
Lauren
http://iampaod.blogspot.com
Thank you so much. I appreciate your feedback tremendously. You're probably right about flying home over driving. It's so good to get advice from someone who's been through it. Love your blog. Take care and feel free to give as much advice as you wish!
What I have found from all the people that have gone through PAO is that everyone's experience is so different. So I would not claim to know the answers but I would be happy to answer any questions from my experience that you may have. Here is my e-mail address, lauren@unitoneatlanta.com. Feel free to e-mail me any time you like. Good luck with the decision and like I said ask others because I certainly didn't have far to travel home so I am no expert. I hope you are also reading the other blogs listed on my blog. They are written by some fantastic women and they have much advice to give too. Merry Christmas. Lauren