Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Medical Transport

I have had questions as to why we might need medical transport on our journeys. Some of you obviously haven't kept up with the Marge and Lilla exploits over the years, so I'll catch you up to speed.



Marge and I have gone on many adventures together over the years and each one has its own unique qualities and stories that accompany. Like everyone's favorite: "The parking lot kiss OR How to protect yourself in a dark, scary, parking lot." Oh, I'll save that one for another time.


In case no one has noticed, Marge and I are getting older (not old, just better) and with the aging process comes some physical and medical challenges. A few years ago, Jim went on his first adventure with us and his specifications for the trip turned out to be - he would do all the driving BUT Marge and I had to sit in the back seat. This was to keep us from talking from the front seat to the back seat and as he puts it "yelling in his ear." As my arthritis progressed and Marge had knee surgery it became increasingly difficult to maneuver in the back seat and after long hours of travel and immobility our knees, ankles, and feet didn't want to function at warp speed. It was often quite difficult to extract ourselves from the back seat: Jim would reach in the back door, offering me his hand to hoist me out, all the while Marge waited for me to get out so she could literally turn and lay down in the seat in order to swing her legs around and make contact with the ground. So, being the humorous guy Jim is, he started saying he was the medical aid and that he was running a medical transport. You can only imagine two older women, stuck in the back seat for long hours, stopping at a rest stop already on the brink of emergency, trying to get out and get moving, and then Jim comes out with "I'm just the medical transport" (loud enough for everyone close by to hear) - well, I nearly didn't need the rest stop any longer. And to add to all of this, one year Jim nearly broke his leg just before we left on our trip and traveled with crutches propped in the front seat. Now if that wasn't a sight - all three of us gimping through the rest area. We weren't sure who the medic was that year. All I can say is Jim is truly very thoughtful, puts up with us, and takes very good care of us in all our travels.