Crystal's Road Trip - Day Twelve
Dear All,
We left Dr. Elders’ home on Sunday morning. After we
had been on the road for an hour and a half, I realized
that we had left all our food for the trip home in her
refrigerator. All we had was pineapple and fish from the
previous night that Dr. Elders had given me as we were
walking out the door.
It was too early for my stomach to handle fish. Of
course, the guys who I was traveling with were up for eating anything, but with a fussy
stomach and no access to a bathroom while on the road, I had to be extremely cautious. I
requested that they stop somewhere to get something simple like scrambled eggs and toast.
They stopped at a truck stop; the only option was generic pizza heated up in a microwave. I
ended up eating a small piece of fish that, as I expected, only exacerbated the acidity of my
stomach.
By the time we made it to Nashville I was asking them to stop again. The guys had a hard
time understanding that this had nothing to do with pickiness. It’s just the reality of having a
fussy stomach. The guys were edgy, I was edgy. We were all ready to be home. By the time
we get to Knoxville, my stomach was dumping acid. I started thinking we might have to stop
and spend the night somewhere after all. The guys just wanted to keep going, and I had to
force them to stop in Knoxville even for a brief amount of time to get me something that I
could eat.
As we were getting breakfast, I went to take insulin
only to discover that there was only one dose left.
We still had fourteen hours left to travel. This caused
a momentary panic, but God sorted it all out. It
was by God’s grace that we realized the problem
while in Knoxville, one of the biggest cities on our
route. I called home and Michael was able to call
in my prescription at a 24-hour Walgreens. Insulin is expensive, and I initially thought I would
have to pay for it out of pocket. However, I discovered that my insurance makes a provision
for a one-time refill while traveling. Walgreens filled my prescription, insurance covered the
cost, and we were back on our way home.
With hot food in my stomach and insulin in my system, I actually closed my eyes and for the
first time on that trip, I slept. I slept for four hours with my wheelchair bouncing in the van as
we drove over hills and through woods. Imagine how tired I must have been. I just focused on
getting home.
The drive itself had so many highlights and challenges. Much of it was just plain bizarre. The
moment that beat everything for sheer weirdness was driving through Tennessee and seeing
a dead deer lying with its legs tied to a piece of wood and being pulled behind a hunter’s car
in a trailer. The deer looked like he might just jump off that wood and run away. I am sure that
for many people in states where hunting is part of the local tradition, this is a normal sight. But
I’m a Northeast coast city girl, and the sight of that deer made me never want to eat meat
again. When I looked at that deer I was thinking, “Well, it’s really time to get back to New
Haven, Connecticut.”
Driving with three guys was also an experience in itself. Men never like to be told how to
follow directions, and Will decided, on his own, to change the route that Triple A had mapped
out. The original route was meant to spare us the New Jersey turnpike and George
Washington Bridge, but the next thing I knew we were on 95 heading right in that direction. Of
course by the time we got to the New Jersey turnpike it was rush hour traffic which added
another two hours onto our already exhausting ride.
Despite everything, we eventually made it home. When we crossed back into Connecticut,
the guys started hooting and hollering and making all sorts of celebratory noises. I couldn’t
join in just yet because I knew I still had to get out of that van with a broken lift. I was finally
able to start hooting and hollering after I made it off the van and back into my apartment.
Being back home is like a miracle; never have I been so happy in my life.
I want to thank each of you for following me and encouraging me on this journey. And believe
me, it has been a journey. We have traveled from Northeast, Connecticut and through the
Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the hills and rivers of Tennessee, and the desert of Arizona.
It has been a wild adventure from the shoot-out welcoming committee in Los Angeles to the
extraordinary events with California Endowment and Kaiser Permanente. I think of the
healing experiences as well: the visit with the Native American Spirit, our stay at Dr. Elders’
home. We met so many wonderful people and experienced so much camaraderie. Despite
the bumps along the way, I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything.
I believe in the power of prayer, and through the energies of Guru Madeleine and the many
prayers of friends and family, we were held safe. It will take me a while to process everything
that has happened. I went with no expectations, and I had no idea what to expect, and came
back with tremendous blessings. I don’t know where “Black Women in Medicine” is going, but
I know right now that I’m going to bed to sleep for twenty-four hours. Kissing your heart.
Namaskar,
Crystal R. Emery
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