Beat down and traveling abroad - prayers needed

[erratic50]

Hey gang - checking in before I hop a flight later today. I'm completely exhausted and a bit beat down so I'm saying a few prayers

This past Thanksgiving marks the 22nd year my family has given thanks, yet while mourning the loss of my cousin in a car wreck in 95. The holiday is forever bitter sweet, glad it only comes once per year. I lost plenty of sleep around this time of year as I have done every year since his crash.

11/29 my dad went in for a knee replacement. It was successful and he's recovering well but it's always hard to watch a loved one go through that. Also you can't help but preparing yourself. what will you would do without them if something goes wrong, etc.

I Spent plenty of time at the hospital which put everything further behind so I spent the weekend playing catch up. As if right now is not a busy enough time of year my work asked me (out of the blue) to travel to Brazil then Mexico

In order to do that I had to go to the Brazilian consulate in CT and get a same day visa.

For those unfamiliar with the bad flight availability in Omaha, logistics are tough. Monday working late trying to get ahead of the week since the next three days are shot, plus try to get ready to travel. 2:30 am bed, 4 am up,. 5:30 am Tuesday flight out of Omaha, the fastest possible route is 7.5 hours of air travel connecting through Charlotte then into White Plains. Somehow with the person who should have stayed home coughing their head off right next to me on both flights. (Seriously). Then start off on 2.5 hours of road time (each way) from there. Get to the Hartford consulate and spend the entire day waiting for my number at their office. You guessed it, more people there who should have stayed home sharing their sickness with anyone else who breathes.

I spent hours and hours on my day job each of these days while juggling doing the visa thing and got very little sleep. Caught a flight home at 6 am and got back home just in time for a holiday party I was supposed to attend. And that night by the time I got home it was clear I had a nice new case of bronchitis. I headed to the doctor immediately Friday and got antibiotics and steroids but I'm convinced something breathing related is what will be the death of me if my occasionally insane driving doesn't get me first.

I spent Friday chasing around trying to handle a few things..... some idiot backed into my new MKX ..... along with trying to get ready to leave and juggling email and phones which are always blowing up with everything else I am supposed to be doing.

i can't complain at all about the email or calls or travel as it's been an unbelievably great year, but my body seems to be thinking otherwise.

Saturday morning 6:00 am, you guessed it. Back at the airport. This time off to Miami. When I got in the airport hotel wasn't running their shuttle, it was pouring rain, and Taxi's refused to take me because it was "too close". Eventually I got an Uber but not before getting completely soaked and cold. I have spent an overnight at the hotel. I went to bed at 12 pm when I got here and honestly stayed there until just a little while ago, just trying to dry out,rest, and let meds do their job.

Now what stares are me in the face is a 12 hour long Sunday flight to São Paulo. A full calendar with two exhausting and long days of meetings then an overnight flight to Mexico City, then two more days of meetings.

Next Saturday finally a 6:00 am departure for Houston the ultimately back to Omaha. I'll get there late Saturday and home early Sunday. Finally one day off after weeks.

Well, I'm tired just from typing all this.......

what im most concerned about is I have asthma which is about 5x worse when I'm sick and a few things trigger it are known to be present in São Paulo and Mexico City and the type of fast acting inhaler I need is actually illegal in Brazil so it goes in the trash in Miami.

The bronchitis is also concerning but I've been on antibiotics more than 24 hours and Im feeling OK like I'm not going to get big-time sick now ...... sure hope not, medical care in a foreign country would not be ideal!

sufficient to say having to leave the rescue inhaler behind has me concerned.

Ive said a few prayers for health and safe passage. The regions im going are not like a walk in the park and I don't speak the languages. Odds are my phones also won't work. My prayers could use a few more.

Once I get back hopefully things will calm down a little so I can put some focus on Christmas and on getting the 85 Saleen project moving again.

Taking it as it comes. I hope this finds you and yours doing well.

[2nd chance cobra]

Someone with more going on than me? I know how you feel. We arent special, everyone has the same stuff. It just seams like we're out there all alone sometimes though. I want nothing more than to come home sometimes and just be annonomys... I get it. Safe travels to you

[wraithracing]

Prayers coming your way buddy!

Safe travels and I hope you to get to feeling better soon!

Take Care!

[Ray Dog]

Must have hit the traffic right,Half way between is a major construction site.
And Westchester airport anything the size of a Boeing 737 or larger landing is like popping duel chutes at the end of a run.
Hope the Trip to Brazil treats you better.
Prayers are on the way.

[KWH]

You got it! Stay strong!

[brianj]

Good luck! I had to make a choice a few years ago - I could continue to be a contractor lineman, and make probably 50K to 75K more a year, or go to a utility and stay in state. My sanity and family made me decide to go the utility route. If i hadn't, right now I'd probably be in Puerto Rico, making 10K a week take home, and spending a good deal of it on divorce lawyers. While we all do what we need to do to support ourselves and our family, sometimes something has to give.

[erratic50]

Thanks gang.

I forked over the dough for a business class upgrade and slept most of the way into São Paulo.

heres hoping there's enough in the tank this week.

[tiretread]

Good luck and thoughts your way. Just keep pushing forward!

[Haystack]

Best of luck man.

As far as the bronchitis goes, keep taking all the pills, and go back until you are 100% better. You can always make more money, but you only have one body.

When my ex left me and I was going through my divorce, I was doing construction.over the winter, I got bronchitis and fought going to a doctor for several months. I also had asthma as a child, though as an adult its never really come back unless I try to run longer then a few blocks.

Fast forwards to July, I moved back in with my dad, he made me go to the doctor. My blood oxegyn level was around 78 and they said they were surprised I could walk in and wanted to hospitalize me. It ended up taking me 4-5 trips and two or three months to actually get better.

I'm not a doctor or anything, but going from barely able to breathe when I was in the best physical shape of my life, to when I actually got better, it made a big, big difference. I don't understand why they kept giving me 3-4 days worth of "high strength" antibiotics and then two weeks worth of steroids instead of just giving me two weeks worth of antibiotics like they used to.

[erratic50]

It's a good point - antibiotics vs roids. I'm loaded up on both and surviving so far - that's the main thing. I'm told Mexico City is a person with asthma's worst nightmare. I went undiagnosed until I was 23. Never have been able to breathe worth a darn.

78 - yikes! Yea, hospitals get concerned enough to administer oxygen at 87 usually.

[webestang]

Prayers to you.....I was diagnosed with asthma at 38. Tack care my friend.

[dagenham]

They say don't drink the water. If you don't drink something a lot stronger than that by now I'm amazed!!
Be careful and safe travels.

[roush235]

Good luck, hope you feel better and the travels go well.

I've done quite a bit of international travel, and nothing about it is easy and stress-free. Traveling to a non-English-speaking country adds greatly to the stress.

For me, it is often therapeutic to write out all I am thinking, which is what you have done.

[erratic50]

Made it into São Paulo Sunday night and through meetings Monday/Tuesday.

Flight to MX city was tough - 11 pm sp time to 5:30am MX city time so 10.5 hours. Guys my height don't fit in coach so it was pretty crippling. Then when I got to my hotel at 6:30 am exhausted having been up 30 hours, they didn't have my room anymore and had cancelled my reservation as a no show. So much for guaranteed late arrival. Reminds us all of a Seinfeld Episode. After all the trouble it took until 11 to get my room. Up 35.5+ hours, am too old for that crap!

Work began in MX city Thursday morning. Made it in and out of a pretty bad area two days in a row to handle the needed business in Mexico City. No words to describe it honestly. the gate and 25' tall bullet proof walls with razor wire on top set the perimeter around the data center where I was. Ratted out and stripped cars up and down both sides of the street with every window having bars, most places looked more like cattle sheds than homes. Humbling to see how poor people in a horribly corrupt country live.

We traveled in and back out of the area as a pack with paid security front and rear. First day no incident, today it's like the locals knew we were coming back.as we tried to leave the area the local thugs broke up the pack but didn't manage to stop any of us and we came across law enforcement again at a very key time.

Very happy to be at my hotel again. Headed for the airport soon and flying home.

Have had terrible problems with my asthma while here as I worried I would. Lots of pollution, and the region has been battling fires. The smoke just hangs in the bowl where Mexico City is. Very dangerous not having a fast acting inhaler but it wasn't legal in Brazil. I won't let anyone try to talk me into this particular business trip destination combo ever again, that's for sure.

Thanks for the support gang. It's been a LONG haul. Even more than I expected.

[wilsst]

Hi,
I hope you got back safely?
best wishes from Switzerland
Steve

[erratic50]

Made it safely to the airport and on my flights home yesterday. After MEX into IAH I was relieved as I could actualky breathe again without an asthma attack each hour the first time in days. Took long enough at customs that I almost missed my connection home but I absolutely did not care, just happy to be back in the US chowing down on a Whataburger.

I got home yesterday evening. A trip that seriously kicked my butt and I won't soon forget. Thanks for the support.

Now if I can just get over the remainder of this bronchitis life can go back to "normal". Whatever that is right.

[Haystack]

Keep at it man, just go back if you aren't 100% where you feel you should be.

I know it can be hard to excercise with a condition like that, but try to go for a short walk when you feel up to it. Help get all the crap out of the lungs.