Nurse Nancy Visits Tucson

I had a great trip to Arizona in March, 2017 and went back in May.  The second trip was a bit bittersweet because while it's always great to see old friends, it's not quite so much fun when one of them is having a mastectomy.

But my friend from high school, Aletha, didn't let a bit of surgery get her down.  We prepared for surgery by throwing diets out the window (ok, she did - I eat like a 12 year old left alone all the time).  We had Mexican food for breakfast.  After her nuclear injection prior to surgery we celebrated with ice cream.  And at the same time bought our favorite candy bars, because they were there.

We also laughed, a lot.  When we went to Target to buy some things she needed for normal life, I bought bubble juice, silly string and Phase 10.  She and I played Phase 10 (made by the makers of UNO, easy and fun for all ages).  Then we taught her husband David and made him play.

The surgery was outpatient.  I believe that the way our health care is going they'll be doing heart transplants at drive-thrus soon.  Aletha came through 2 1/2 hours of surgery with no problems.  After 45 minutes in recovery, we took her home.  She napped a bit, took her one and only pain pill and we just chilled.  The next morning, we went out for breakfast and then it was pretty much business as usual.

Lousy reason for the visit, but still a good time.  I did learn that flying standby a couple of days before a holiday weekend can be dicey.  Went to the airport on Wednesday, May 24.  Flights were full so after a few hours, rented another car and hotel room.  Thursday, May 25 I got on the plane.  We sat at the gate for awhile before they said the flight would be delayed due to mechanical problems.  And delayed it was, for 20 hours.  So another rental car and hotel room.  If you rent a car at Alamo at the Tucson airport, please tell my friend Buddy hello for me.  He gave me a very nice free upgrade since he felt bad for me.  On Friday, May 26 I got on the delayed flight to Houston.  It didn't look good from there.  I was 36th on the standby list and there were five seats available.  Somehow, a miracle happened and I got on.  Thank you, United.

Here are a few photos.

I love saguaro cactus.  Oh, wait - those are cell towers, cleverly disguised as cactus.

One of my favorites dishes - Jack in the Box tacos.  If Jack knew how much I loved them, he'd open a J in the B in Lake Mary.

Antidote to stress at 6:00 a.m. before surgery?  Silly String fight!

You gotta love a town that has 24 hour drive-thrus with good Mexican food.  Aletha and I stopped in for breakfast.