NOV 25, 22 .. FRIDAY .. NOVEMBER THE TWENTY-FIFTH .. WHAT’S IN A DATE ??
Today is Friday, November the 25th, 2022
Just like last Wednesday’s Post, this one got away from me. But, going-in, I knew it would be a project.
So I am going to take it just one-step-at-a-time by first beginning with a short look-back at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
I was in Dubai, and other parts of the United Arab Emirates, for almost two full months dating from my arrival there on October 1, 2016 to my departure on November 25, 2016. What a trip it was. Below you will see but a miniscule sampling of the photos I snapped during my visit.
The Dubai Metro System is state-of-the-art. Well, actually ALL of Dubai is state-of-the-art.
Just take a look at the buildings.
My Hotel and My Hotel Room.
Trust me ! In my Dubai Hotel, as hotel rooms go in Dubai, I was staying in a SUPER LOW PRICE BUDGET HOTEL ! Sorry but not-too-shabby !
Do you want a HOOT ! Well, coming up below, is ONE HOOT.
Never, as in never-ever, in my life had I tried skiing.
So what did I find in Dubai? Ski lessons !
Here we go, skiing lessons on the ” Bunny Slopes “.
What a HOOT huh ?
And then, during the last few hours of my two month visit to Dubai ..
IT HAPPENED ..
– – – – – – – –
Today is Friday, November the 25th, 2022
It has now been six years ago to the day, and six years ago to the date of November 25th 2016.
To begin with, I don’t expect anyone to know the answer to the below questions. I don’t expect anyone to even care about the below questions. However I am about to finish this short ” Journey into the Past “. So if you are inerested, please bear with me.
TODAY’s QUESTIONS :
When was the last time that Friday, November the 25th was preceded by Thanksgiving Day being Thursday, November the 24th ? It was six years ago in November of 2016.
Do all of you know what the time difference between Anchorage, Alaska, and Dubai is? It is 13 hours.
Friday, November the 25th, 2016, I was in the airport in Dubai. I had passed through customs and security. I was due to fly to Hong Kong where I planned to spend a month-or-so and then I was going to fly up to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Life was large. I was on-a-roll.
3pm Friday afternoon November 25th in Dubai was 2am, o’dark, o’clock, in the early moring (focus on that) Thanksgiving Thursday, November the 24th for Patti.
I TOOK A BAD FALL IN THE DUBAI AIRPORT.
After the paramedics gathered me up and put me on a gurney and began a medical hands-on evalution of me, I called Patti. Thank The Good Lord Almighty that my cell phone worked !
” Hi My Dear One. I just took a very bad fall here in the boarding area of the Dubai Airport. I am on a gurney surrounded by three paramedics who are attempting to take me to a local hospital. They agree I seem to be of sound mind but wanted to talk to my next-of-kin. Will you speak with them ?”
Mind you, this was at 2am, o’dark, o’clock, in the early morning of Thanksgiving Day for Patti !
After some time discussing this with Patti, the paramedics agreed that I was of sound mind IF not sound of body.
Here’s the deal. Had I been hospitalized in the United Arab Emirates I would never have been able to leave. I would have been hit with an enormous medical bill, not covered by one whit of insurance, and they are sophisticated enough to know how to seize my assetts in the United States. I was literally fighting-for-my-life !
IF I had one thing going for me it was this : All three paramedics were Indian (from India) Nationals. I could speak enough Hindi to befriend them.
IF I had another thing going for me it was this : I was wildly (I alway am) early for my flight. Had I missed the flight it was dooms-day.
After signing (not in blood but almost) pages of legal release documents, they took me in a wheel chair to the boarding gate for my Hong Kong flight.
I flew to Hong Kong where Friday night I was met by friends, Steve, Grant and Nicky. Steve took the below photo.
And here is Steve.
Saturday, I went (with Steve pushing my wheel chair) to my Hong Kong Hospital and received a medical evaluation. The doctor said I had a very bad break of my left hip needing immediate surgery. I politely declined. Again with no medical insurance effective in Hong Kong, it would have been a financial disaster.
Me, my wheel chair, and the owner of my favorite restaurant in all of Hong Kong.
Monday morning, it was my Hong Kong friends who got me to the airport. It was my buddy, the-one, the-only Godzilla who, working with Patti, used his Delta Airlines frequent flier miles to get me business class accommodations to Seattle and then to Phoenix where the Mayo Clinic Emergency Room was (thanks 100% to Patti ! This alone is quite a story !) waiting for me. Detroit Tiger Tom drove our GMC Suburban from Michigan to Phoenix so we would have wheels, and then flew back to Michigan. I was operated on by Mayo Clinic Doctors on Thursday, December 1st, 2016 (they had to await while they cleared up a nasty abdominal infection before they could operate), and I left the Mayo Clinic Saturday December 3rd to begin my recovery process. Shortly into my recovery process, I developed (life threatening) blood clots in my lungs a week after the surgery and had to be treated with high powered blood thinners to deal with that Drama !
FINAL QUESTION : Can you all understand just why I wanted to re-visit this drama that happened six years ago today on this same date ?
Oh ? IF any of you would like to re-visit, in considerable detail this drama, please click onto the below link..
Over and Out ..
Cap and Patti
2 thoughts on “NOV 25, 22 .. FRIDAY .. NOVEMBER THE TWENTY-FIFTH .. WHAT’S IN A DATE ??”
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Cap! I hope you and Patti celebrated a day of gratitude, solitude and peace and enjoyed a day of some exciting NFL games. Although the Detroit Lions lost boths teams played their hearts out. BTW! I was rooting for the Lions because of my loyalty to your home town!
So, reading your re-post on your trip to Dubai (I diligently read the first posts) did you actually fracture your hip AFTER the mall ski adventure! If, so….WHOA! Talk about misfortune! I’ve taken some nasty spills on the ski slopes of California and been a walking wounded for the next few months. But never in an aiport! I still share with my ‘family’ how you carried yourself out of Dubai, via Hong Kong…to the Mayo where you had the surgical repairs done! Talk about a strong adventurer. Sir Edmund Hillary would be proud of you! I was! lol :)
Have a Truly Blessed Day! I hope to see you both, sooner-than-soon!
Love,
Michael
Thank you for your comment Michael. Yes indeed. I fell and broke my left hip in the airport leaving Dubai for Hong Kong a few days AFTER my ski lesson. Beginning with every single Doctor and going down to every single Mayo employee I had contact with, all were AMAZED at my journey. Several long flights, especially the 12 hour flight from Hong Kong to Seattle, and going through the normal rigors of travel (checking in, passing through security, etc) and the 3 hour wait in Seattle. Restroom visits on the plane and at Seattle were EXTREMELY CHALLENGING. Then a three hour flight to Phoenix. I wrote in length on my Recovery Website that I really needed just one drink to ease the pain. Then I played the tape ALL THE WAY through and never took the first drink. Even Mayo staff who dealt with Patti had heard of my situation !! Just instants before my surgery began, the medical team said to me, “You are one tough cookie !” after I moved into a final position for them. Such a deal Michael. Your Ally .. Cap