She packed up her potential and all she had learned,: Long overdue: Kindness of strangers

Getting home went better than I could have expected. I was pretty nervous about getting home with two casts, mostly because I felt so dependant on other people. But despite my worry, everyone was really helpful.

In Kigali, I was picked up in a wheelchair in the cafe area because there is no handicapped access inside. The nice man wheeled me around the parking lot and through the door used for food trucks etc. He wheeled me to the stairs of the plane (no jetways here) and gave me a serious headstart up the stairs. In Addis, I got myself down the stairs of the plane and was met by a man with a wheelchair for me. A very nice missionary based in Niger carried my bag and walked with us to the gate, making sure I was all set before going off to his own flight. The only minor hiccup came as I deplaned in Washington DC. Right before we landed, I double checked with the stewardess to make sure my transport was all set. She confirmed, and then as we landed, a woman came onboard to get me. But, as I was waiting for a kind soul to get my bag from the overhead compartment, an old lady stole my wheelchair! I managed to get another one and soon was in the arms of my loving mom!

I got back last Friday and by Tuesday I was cast free. The doctor I saw was chocked beyond belief that I had been casted for 2 sprains. “I mean, not for twenty years has this been the treatment” When I pointed out that they don’t have air casts in Rwanda, he seemed a little sheepish and gave some lip service to the technology available in the states. All this while writing on a tablet computer that send all prescriptions and other info straight to the front desk instantaneously. Even though the casts came right off, the pain stuck around so I spent most of last week laying in bed resting and abusing Advil and the kindness of my mom. I also managed a record number of visits from my kind Brother and Sister-in-law and my superhero nephews.