Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The Amazing Race has Begun

Ladies and gentlemen . . . boys and girls . . . we are in DENVER!!

Before I get to far ahead of myself let me take you back. Yesterday afternoon I hugged my sweet little girls and kissed my fabulous husband good bye (definitely not the easiest thing I've done in my life . . . ) and headed down to a hotel in Seattle . . .



My sister dropped us off with a cart full of luggage and we quickly went to sleep anticipating an early morning. We awoke at 4:30 am . . . an incredible feat if you know my mom or I . . . and jumped aboard the hotel shuttle. Upon arrival at Sea Tac, we got our boarding passes, checked our bags (for a meager fee of $20 a piece - what is this world coming to?!), went through security (because my mom has a pace maker, she can't go through the metal detectors so she was treated to a full pat down . . . good times), then sat down for breakfast. It was soon time to head to the boarding gate. On the way, I decided I must have a coffee . . . the Starbucks line was at least 25 people long so I'm sorry to say Melissa (my Starbucks barista sister) I chose the no name coffee stand down the hall that had only two people in line - I love me some Starbucks but am not that snobby - not worth missing a flight for. Anyway - back to the real story - we began the trek to the boarding gate. Feeling quite asthmatic (as they've been tappering medications before the testing) it felt as though we had to cross three county lines to get there. We arrived just in time to board the plane. Our seats were cozy and we settled in for a ride . .


For a little over two hours we chatted (well . . . I whispered . . ) and enjoyed the flight. Modern technology is incredible as you are now able to access the internet with a wireless connection from the air!! I tried despretly to send a blog entry from the sky but it wouldn't let me enter the site . . . I have proof of trying though . . . and am still beyond impressed it's even possible . . . where are the Jetsons?



The flight was smooth sailing until the final 20 minutes or so of landing when we experienced a roller coaster of a ride with turbulance. It was not the best feeling ride I've been on but am happy to report that the wheels touched the ground. We were super excited to officially be in Denver!! Still dealing with the asthma, I got to neb right as soon as we departed . . . I am sooooo thankful for the portable nebulizer that we purchased (thanks to the generosity of our dear friends at Grace Lutheran Church) . . .


I finished the neb treatment and we started on the next lag of the Amazing Race . . . finding our baggage in the Denver airport. It is no exaggeration to say that we walked a mile, rode on moving sidewalks, took an elevator down, took a train over, rode another escalator up, walked another mile or so and found our bags.


After grabbing our bags, we found a Super Shuttle and bought a round trip travel ticket to our hotel then back to the airport when this journey is over. We waited in the sunshine (is this Denver?) for the Super Shuttle . . . a friendly driver picked us up and away we went . . . I'm still looking for Phil and the clue boxes (Amazing Race reference for those who don't know about the greatest show on TV). On the 45 min ride from the airport to our hotel we chatted (well . . . I whispered) with a man who's friend suffered from severe asthma, traveled to Denver, and found a solution . . . he went on to live a healthy, well managed life to this day. It was so encouraging to hear a real success story.

We arrived at the beautiful Marriott Towne Place Suites (the building used to be a printing press so it has some amazing architecture . . . photos to come later) . . . thank you Brian and all involved for choosing such an incredible place to stay and making this journey possible - I can't begin to express what this means and don't want you to see me cry online so I'll stop for now . . . We were welcomed by the nicest hotel staff ever who were beyond accomidating . . . we found our room, I nebbed, and my mom unpacked.






And yes . . . that's me on the couch . . . it's comfy in case you're wondering. We have a spacious living room, a full kitchen, two large bedrooms, a nice bathroom and even a little table to play games on at night. It is heavenly . . . 10 days in a hotel will not be so bad with so much wonderful space. Because of the full kitchenette, we decided to fill our fridge and cupboards with good healthy food so we can eat most meals at home and pack snacks while we travel back and forth to the hospital over the next week and a half. Our super accommodating hotel offered us a free shuttle ride to the local grocery store.



And yes . . . my mom took my picture in the grocery store in Denver . . . this blog with not lack pictures to follow the stories - that is a gifting my mom has . . .

We rode the shuttle home . . . ok - the hotel but good that I automatically wrote home . . . and I nebbed while my mom put away groceries . . . she's definitely having to earn her keep on this vacation. We are settled in, enjoying some food and here I sit . . . nebbing and blogging . . . so excited to be here . . . can't wait for tomorrow when I get to meet with my team of doctors and begin the testings . . . I'm optimistic, excited and just feel so overwhelmingly blessed to have this opportunity . . . within hours I'll be stepping foot in the number one respiratory hospital in the country . . . YEAH DENVER!!!

4 comments:

  1. Awesome! I am sure there will be no lack of photos!

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  2. Congratulations on making it to Denver and beginning your journey toward better health. I'm hoping that by your birthday you have answers and are on the road to recovery. The Zanins love you and are praying for you.

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  3. Yay for your arrival in Denver! I flew through there on my way to DC and thought the aiport was so much nicer than others.

    Looking forward to more updates. Hugs to you, friend!

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  4. I loved the part about the plane ride into Denver! We have flown into Denver numerous times (we used to live in Co. and some of Ken's family still do) and we always know to expect a rough time when we go over the Rockies and drop immediately down to Denver! Good luck, lots of prayers going up for you back in WA!

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