It has been a long journey learning to live on life’s terms. Some days are more challenging than others. It has been a process that involves surrendering to what is and letting go of what we think it should be. We must pivot our thinking and perceptions when life presents a new challenge. How we perceive this unexpected challenge determines if the event will result in stress or laughter. Daily routines are our friend, but routines must be adapted when we leave the safety of our home environment. We recently took a trip back to Wisconsin, where one experience presented an opportunity to practice this philosophy.
It has been about two years since we set roots in Arizona. We traded our Ford F-350 for a 12-passenger Nissan van nearly a year ago. Although we could no longer live the nomadic lifestyle, we still wanted to travel. Our New-To-Us van offers that possibility. The original plan was to take a short road trip to iron out the details of our traveling dynamics, but this wasn’t to be so. Our maiden voyage was a 3600-mile round trip for my niece’s wedding.
On The Road Again
The first day of travel was smooth sailing. It was a beautiful, sunny October day. We had 296 miles of interstate travel cruising at 75 mph in sparse traffic. Our biggest challenge was figuring out the bathroom situation. We will opt for family bathrooms whenever possible; however, this was not an option along our travel route. We had to make a decision. Were we to use the men’s or women’s room? I figured that guys would have fewer issues with a woman in their Den of Relief than women would have with a guy in theirs. I was correct; most guys did not even glance at us.
Our second day of travel was more eventful. Not long after we left Alamogordo, NM, we had to depart from the comfort and ease of interstate travel onto state highways. Traveling northeast on Hwy 54 took us through the desolate New Mexico desert in heavy crosswinds. There was very little resembling civilization on this long stretch of road. The unincorporated towns we passed did not offer us an opportunity for a bathroom break. We finally came upon a lone gas station in Vaughn, NM.
We have realized that bathroom stops are sometimes a source of adventure. Momma Gump told Forrest, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what your gonna get.” This statement is true for gas station bathrooms too. Some bathroom stalls are large enough to play racquetball, and some can hardly fit cartoon stick people. This particular one was of the latter. The gas station was a bit long in the tooth, made apparent by the undersized accessible stall. Nonetheless, we had to make it work.
Relax, Its Just A Hole In Her Abdomen
Like most acts of daily living, we have a bathroom procedure to follow. Most of the time, the process works like a charm. Occasionally we run into a snag. After assisting Colleen with her clothes and sitting down, I noticed her feeding tube was missing from her abdomen. It had gotten snagged in her clothes. The first emotion that came over me was panic, followed by colorful language that I will spare you. Panic seems natural as I stare at a hole in Colleen’s abdomen in the middle of the New Mexico desert! It is not the first time her tube has come out, however, it is the first time this has happened away from home. From this moment, the clock starts ticking. A feeding tube must be re-inserted within about an hour. If not promptly replaced, the hole inside the stomach begins to close. Amazingly, the human body starts healing that quickly.
When this has happened in the past, we will make a quick visit to urgent care, but in this case, we did not have that option. We had been driving for 100 miles through the desolate New Mexico desert. As far as we knew, we had another 100 miles before we reached the nearest hospital. After the initial panic subsided, I remembered I had learned how to do this. During our last urgent care visit, a nurse instructed me how to re-insert it. Just to be sure I had my bases covered, I found some videos on YouTube that prepared me for the next time her tube came out. It did come out at home about a month later. Sure enough, the procedure worked like a charm.
Dont Do This At Home (Or On The Road)
After finishing the bathroom business, we got Colleen into the van. By this time, the temperature was around 45 degrees with driving rain in 20 mph winds. I had to switch to “Surgeon Mode.” In a silly voice mimicking a hospital intercom, I said: “Paging Dr. Lang, you are urgently needed in surgery.” Yes, this was very corny, but it got a laugh out of Colleen and settled my nerves. Thank God I had the presence of mind to pack the needed supplies. I followed the same procedure as before. Two minutes later, we were done and back on the road.
After we returned home, Colleen had an appointment with a GI doctor. I casually relayed the story to him. He said nothing but raised his eyebrows as if to say, “What were you thinking?” Despite his skeptical look, he confirmed the tube was correctly placed. God was watching over us on that cold, wet, blustery day.
Respond, Dont React
St. Francis of Assisi said, “Wear the world like a loose garment, which touches us in a few places and there lightly.” The challenges of life are going to happen, sometimes at inopportune times. With each challenge, we have a choice to either respond or react. When we step back and respond to the situation instead of emotionally react, we can find laughter in a seemingly unfortunate event.
