Close call

I'm back. Since last Monday, I've been in Phoenix. I had to rush down there to be with my father, who suffered congestive heart failure on Sunday, April 4th, just two days before he was scheduled to return to Canada after his winter vacation. It was a frantic week. Having experienced an all-too-close brush with death, my father finally was released from the hospital on Thursday night. Good Friday was anything but... since, due to the holiday, I was unable to buy the medications that had been prescribed by the doctors who treated him. By Saturday morning, my father had taken another turn for the worse... luckily, he responded very favourably to the drugs once I was able to find them (one in particular was so rare, I had to try four pharmacies before I found one that stocked it).

Finally, I had to reschedule his (and my mom's) flight back to Canada, since they had missed the original one on April 6th. I scheduled myself on the same flight, so I could take care of anything that might go wrong on the plane, and so that I could co-ordinate transportation from the airport back to my parents' home.

Since my parents had a whole winter full of luggage they wished to bring home, I had arranged an Airport Shuttle for them. I had to travel separately, so I could return the rental car before going to the airport terminal. Unfortunately, the main highway link from my parents' part of the city to the airport was under construction today. The detour was overcrowded, and by the time I was able to make it to the car lot to return the rental, it was too late to catch my flight. That meant that my parents were on the plane without me, and without transportation home.

I had very little time to arrange alternate ground transportation for my parents, since I was also trying to arrange alternate air transport for myself, and the next available flight was so close to my arrival time at the airport, there was scarcely time to make some calls. Luckily, I was able to contact my wife and sister, and between them, they were able to make alternate ground transportation arrangements. I was also lucky enough to find time to leave a phone message at the ticket counter for my parents, so they at least knew I would be missing the flight. I had been concerned that if I didn't show up, they would purposely not board the plane so we could remain together.

Thankfully, everything worked out, and my parents made it home ok. I got home about a half hour ago, so the entire saga came to a happy conclusion. Everyone alive, home, and safe.