My mom turned the big 6-0 this year so my sister and I decided we'd all meet up in Chicago to celebrate.
Aunt Kathy was kind enough to meet us at the Ft. Myers airport's cell phone lot to keep MacKenzie while we were away. We'd initially planned to take MacKenzie with us, but she doesn't love flying and she does really enjoy Aunt Kathy so it was a win. We got to Indy just in time to grab some lunch at our old favorite Mexican joint, Riviera Maya (which moved locations and now is just not as good), before I had some beauty appointments. While we do live in Florida now, I have been unable to commit to a good nail technician or a hairstylist. As soon as we knew the dates we'd be back in Fishers I made a nail appointment and, finally, a hair appointment. It was time for both!
It was so nice to be back at my old salons. You just don't think about the things you'll miss when you move! Our grill here in Naples is electric and not really the best for cooking steaks so Susie had steaks ready for their fancy grills at her apartment complex in Fishers. We had a delicious dinner and then we all walked over to Handel's for ice cream because it is basically a requirement.
The next morning, Independence Day, Jackson and I headed for Upland to get Mom so that we could make our way to Chicago. I got to see little Miss Ella for a few minutes. I miss that little dog something fierce! Then we were off to the big city. Mom got to enjoy the Petefish road trip games that include googling anything that you have wondered about. We even took the citizenship test that folks wishing to become Americans take. Spoiler: Mom is lucky she was born here because she was a little rusty. HA! At one point she named Thomas Edison as a former president. Let that sink in! I passed with flying colors because I'm just a nerd. Jackson was the moderator, but he felt good about his knowledge level. We laughed and laughed and I'm laughing again at the Thomas Edison thing.
Eventually we made it to Chicago, got dropped off at the hotel and Jackson went to park at a nearby spot that we got for two days for half the price of one day at our hotel. Parking prices in Chicago are absolutely insane. Kylie and her squad arrived a few minutes later and once she'd thoroughly inspected the high-end hotel rooms for bedbugs like an insane person, everyone was settled and ready to explore!
First things first, we checked out the pool. I remember as a kid this being a very important part of any hotel stay. The pool at the Intercontinental Chicago is historic and at one time was the highest indoor pool in America. We found that the tiled walls made for a good photo background.
We walked back with the mass of folks leaving the Navy Pier area and called it a night. The next morning we were supposed to go to the Field Museum with everyone but Jackson woke up feeling bad. This happens right at never so we ended up just resting while everyone else went out. We eventually met them for lunch at Portillo's (another place Kylie was dying to eat). This was undoubtedly better than the one they recently opened in Fishers.
From there we were walking back to the hotel to brush our teeth before going on a boat tour when disaster struck. It was about 1:30 p.m. at this point. Mom didn't see a little scooter parked by a bike rack and tripped falling hard on the sidewalk. She caught herself a little with her hand, but took a lot of the fall on her face. I turned around just to see it happening and it was like time slowed. I expected at first that she'd just get up and be a bit embarrassed but instead there was just a ton of blood.
Listen, I am a lot of things but good with blood is not one of them. We got her picked up and dusted off and I was certain that she'd broken her nose. She thought she'd lost her teeth (she had NOT). A kind woman on the street stopped and gave us some tissues and tried to pour water from her reusable bottle on mom's wounds. Listen, we weren't in a war zone so that felt unsanitary and unnecessary so I thanked her but refused. We got mom to the lobby of our hotel which was only a couple of steps away. The kindest bellman, Will, got her more tissues and some water. I ran up to her room to get her wallet with her insurance information in it so we could go get medical treatment.
Kylie needed to take care of Alex so we decided that Jackson and I would take mom for treatment. Will, the doorman, helped us get a cab. The first cabbie was an awful jerk who got what might be the worst tongue lashing I've ever given someone in my life. I'm pretty sure that if Mom weren't so injured she'd have been mortified and perhaps tried to ground me for the language and tone used. Anyway, he didn't want to help us at all so we got out of his cab and Will found us a new one. This guy was quite nice and got up the nearest urgent care location. Mom was not what you'd call calm at this point. She was still freaking out about her teeth. This made me tense. When we checked in at urgent care and she was still bleeding and they check-in woman acted like this was no big deal I got quite irritated. Listen, I am a business person. I understand that these places have to get paid. I am also a human and think if someone is in clear pain and bleeding perhaps addressing their medical needs before your financial needs is the right thing to do.
The urgent care place put her sixth in line for treatment behind people with flu-like symptoms. WHAT? Again, I'm not a medical professional but come on. This is where things get even uglier. We decide to leave urgent care and go to the ER. This is because I am still thinking she's got a broken nose because she has refused to go clean herself up. Jackson and I argue about whether this is a good decision and I'm belligerent at this point absolutely determined to get the bleeding stopped and her nose looked at. We get an Uber to the ER and find that we've entered Hell on earth.
You guys, do not ever get hurt in downtown Chicago. The ER was the most insane place I'd ever seen. The waiting room was overflowing with folks seeking care. We waited for more than two hours for Mom to be seen. Yes, this means that Jackson was right and we should have stayed at the urgent care location. Did I mention that blood makes me uneasy? By now Mom had cleaned herself up and we saw that she just had scrapes on her face and a big gash on her hand that we were certain needed stitches. Eventually they took her back to a room. Then they called us back because, shocker, we had all of her financial information and they wanted payment before they treated her. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MEDICAL PROVIDERS OF AMERICA?!?!?!? I'll save you my tirade about how these tax exempt hospitals are subsidized by taxpayers and therefore subject to charity care rules that they seemingly ignore. Oops. I'll mostly spare you my tirade. A little slipped out.
Jackson and I walked back and it was like entering a computer lab. It was so quiet and peaceful compared to the waiting room. I was immediately mad again. How are these medical folks helping anyone by sitting on computers? Two nurses were looking at dog photos of their iPhones. I'm not kidding.
Kylie had gotten the boat tour rescheduled for 6pm and we thought we'd be out in time. Nope. I relieved Jackson of his duties around 4:30 so that he could go meet our niece Grace who is in school in Chicago and had planned to meet us for dinner that evening. She instead took my place on the boat tour while I stayed with mom in the ER.
Mom had a CT scan (she was fine) and got her hand stitched up by a handsome nurse practitioner (one of the only highlights of this adventure) and then we finally got the leave.
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| Deb hanging out in the ER |
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We got some room service that has gold somewhere
because this spread of chicken fingers was $50 |
We walked over to the Walgreens across the street to get her some medicine and bandages before finally getting back to the hotel. I ordered room service for her and got her cleaned up and ready for bed. If anyone wondered if this ordeal solidified my decision to not have children, it did. I'm not cut out for this kind of work. It is simply too stressful. Mom really lucked out as her fall could have been much worse. I think she just saw all the blood and got herself freaked out. Jackson really was a champ about the whole thing. I, admittedly, was not. Chaos is not where I operate well.
At around 8p.m. I finally got to my room and brushed my teeth. I'd been trying to do that for about 7 hours at that point. Soon the boat tour ended and I was able to meet Jackson and Grace for a late dinner.
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| The crew on the boat tour |
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Grace living up Aunt Jenna not being around
and getting Uncle Jackson to buy her alcohol! |
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| They had a gorgeous night for seeing the city |
It was so nice to just be out of the hospital and getting some dinner. We truly enjoyed our visit with Grace. She has grown up SO much from just one year of college. She is studying in Italy next year so we planned our visits to see her then. She was just a joy. Our dinner was also phenomenal. We ate at the Grand Lux which usually isn't my favorite but they gave us the best seats in the house overlooking Michigan Avenue and my dish was top 5 I'd ever had at a restaurant. We chatted the night away with Grace and let go of our rough day. We both remarked about how much we enjoyed grown up Grace. We put her in an Uber back to her apartment and headed back to our room to clean up and go to bed as this day had been exhausting.
The next day Kylie and her crew had a early train so they left town. We decided to stick around for a bit to try to salvage Mom's birthday getaway. We found Will the doorman and thanked him for his help the prior day. He said that I was a "true rider and wasn't going to let anything happen to my momma" which he respected. Shockingly this pleased my mother. I was sure she was going to lecture me about manners and language now that she was on the mend, but she did not. She seemed to appreciate that Will noticed that I was not someone to mess with. Whatever works!
We walked down to a popular restaurant for brunch which was quite good. Mom's biggest disappointment besides losing some of her skin on Michigan Ave. was missing the boat tour. We didn't have time for a full one, but we did get tickets and take a boat up and down the Chicago River so she could see some of the cool buildings. Jackson flexed his knowledge from the night before and it was a like a miniature tour.
Overall the trip did not go according to any plan I ever had. I hardly saw my sister! Mom ended up banged up! Jackson and I argued in an ugly manner! BUT such is life. It is certainly not a trip we'll forget anytime soon.
