Our 50th Wedding Anniversary was originally tentatively imagined as meeting up with our children and grandchildren at California’s Disneyland. And then the COVID pandemic happened. And then our son moved overseas with his family about a year ago.
Sigh…
So we decided to meet sort of half way in Tokyo. For our daughter, Tiffany, it was a much greater distance to travel from Chicago.
But then our son-in-law got a new job which prevented him from joining us.
However, we went ahead with our plans since we hadn’t seen our son and his family in almost 3 years.
The day of our departure finally came. It was Friday, June 16th. My brother, Dennis was scheduled to take us to the airport and then come to stay with mom for our two week anniversary trip.
Art was busy doing a little last minute vacuuming before we would be leaving for the airport in 3 hours. We therefore didn’t hear neighbors calling us at first.
When I went down, frantic neighbors told us they saw mom had fallen outside while raking up leaves from the roadway. Mom insists on doing this to keep the neighborhood clean and says it’s also her exercise.
I’d never seen this much blood on any of us. When I checked her head, I could see there wasn’t a horrendous injury for the amount of blood she lost. She wasn’t disoriented and was coherent. I called my brother to take her to the ER.
A friend (and neighbors) offered to take us to the airport once I got mom cleaned up, applied an ice pack and had Dennis taking over to drive her to the ER. Dennis kept up a steady report by text while we waited at the airport. Our flight was delayed again a little over an hour and by the time we actually took off, we could know that mom was fine. CT scans of her head, neck and chest showed no abnormal signs of injury. She didn’t even need stitches but was given an IV for hydration and a tetanus shot. It was absolutely amazing!
However, it was a stressful, anxiety filled time and an awful way to start our 50th Anniversary trip.
Still… we looked forward to seeing our children and their families…
And kept trying to smile…
Our friend, Dave dropped everything to take us to the airport. We really need to learn how to use Uber.
Arriving at the very crowded Honolulu International Airport, we found almost no one wearing a mask! 😬
The Hawaiian Airlines flight to Haneda Airport was 8 hours 11 minutes long.
We left Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines at around 3:30 PM on a Friday and we arrived in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Saturday at 6:49 PM. We caught the hotel shuttle to Hotel MyStays Premier Omori at 8:30 and were last to arrive.
We checked in at the hotel around 9:00 PM on Saturday. Japan is a day ahead of us so the time change was disorienting.
Tiffany, KC, Keola, Sarah and grandsons were already in their hotel rooms having arrived earlier in the day. Our little grandsons were sleeping along with their tired parents, but Tiffany and KC came down to greet us. They came with us to our room and filled us in while we prepared for bed.
It had been a difficult day.
You're back! What a start to your wonderful trip. Look forward to hearing about the good times. Our 50th is next year and we too are taking the family on a 2 week trip to Switzerland!
ReplyDeleteYour mom is so resilient! I do hope by now she has recovered completely from her fall. And gosh that was a scare all right!
ReplyDeleteShock and horror is right. So glad you made it to Tokyo to see your kids. And glad your mom was ok, whew.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! That was sure an awful start to your vacation. Glad mom is okay. She is a resilient one! Enjoy the grands!
ReplyDeleteYour poor mom! Pretty difficult to slow her down, I imagine!
ReplyDeleteSo glad your mom is OK. Head wounds do tend to bleed a lot. Wonderful that you were able to still make the trip. Looking forward to pictures!
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, you and Art are the well-seasoned travelers who can withstand whatever is thrown at you. I cannot imagine, at my stage in life, gong to a strange place and being comfortable and doing well with all that happens with travel. I am okay when it's a place I know and am familiar with the customs and conditions. But to go to unfamiliar places with unfamiliar foods, customs, time zones, etc...I would not do well.
ReplyDeleteOh, such a difficult day, but your mom is OK and you got to go on the trip. Good news on all counts!
ReplyDeletePhew! What a stressful morning! Thank goodness your brother took care of mom and helped in your stead. Hope you had a good trip otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThat was an upsetting way to begin your trip. I look forward to hearing about better days ahead.
ReplyDeleteA difficult and stressful day for sure. When they say that head wounds bleed a lot, I think they seem to be right.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, a difficult day, but pleased your dear mom is alright and you got to go on your trip.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
So sorry to hear about your mom, but at her age she's hard head. My dementia mom, decided to go to her exercise class a few blocks away. She left while I was still sleeping. When she came home she was all busted up. She tripped and fell on the way there. She laid their injured until she had the strength to get up. So hard head. She was fine but she was scraped and bloodied everywhere. Thankfully that was the last time she decided to go out on her own. One time our neighbor saw her fall down in the driveway as she went to get the mail. They have memory issues so its hard to keep them still. You can't reason with them either. They just don't understand. And you certainly can't tie them down. On the other hand it's better than the end stage when they are bedridden. It's a lose lose scenario perio. Head injuries are real bleeders, because there are a lot of blood vessels in the head. It looks worse than what it really is. I look forward to reading about your Japan journeys. BB
ReplyDeleteStill so jet-lagged and trying to get the trip days scheduled before I forget it... even with the notes I wrote.
DeleteI do always love to hear from you especially since you've been through the same experiences (and local) :-). Ah yes... hard head. Definitely in more ways than one. I've contacted her geriatric specialist and they're putting her on a medication. I don't know if it would help, but I'm hoping for anything right now. It's scary.
Travelers don't need an accident to through a kink in their travel plans.
ReplyDeleteGlad mom wasn't seriously injured! And that you get to be with your children and grandchildren
ReplyDeleteWhew! Glad she was taken to the ER to make sure all was ok. So many folks won't go to the ER after hitting their head and we can't see inside the skull just by looking at the outside. Might want to keep more tabs on her blood pressure and drink more water; as in wondering "why" she fell. Bet she sneaks some aloe in her shampoo, eh? Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I've reminded her about drinking more water, but of course, she forgets. I will make more of an effort to remind her and make sure she does.
DeleteThat would have such an effect.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hit my head a couple of years ago, It too 7 stitches to close it.and it bled a long time a lot of blood. It took a large towel to get it dry. They told me at the hospital that the scalp always bleeds a lot.. And I am Margie at Margie's Musings...not Anonymous!
ReplyDeletetook...that's what I meant!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to read your Mom is doing well. Scary. Have a great visit with the kids.
ReplyDeleteJust when you think you are completely prepared, life tosses a curve ball at you. Glad to hear your mom is no worse for the wear and you were still able to make your flight.
ReplyDelete