My departure from Egypt, arrival in the US...home to Doylestown and news

This post was begun between October 7 and 14...I am finally finishing it! Events of the past two months will follow!

My departure from Egypt was set for October 6. After my fall and injuries I debated returning home early. Changing flights was complicated and I didn't have the energy to deal with airline personnel.

Ahmed, the de facto manager at Cairo Centre sat down in my room for a chat...Susan, who do you live with? my husband....is he at home all the time?...no, he works...do you have friends to take care of you? all the time? no!...He then looked quite serious and a bit worried. Susan, I think you should stay here and go to the US on the 6th. You need someone to take care of you all the 24 hours. Your husband can't do that. You should stay here!! We can take care of you 24 hours a day.I think you should stay here!! I agreed with him and stayed in Cairo. The hotel staff...and the guests were wonderful; they helped with anything and everything. Cheered me up when I needed it.....left me alone when I needed to be alone.

Parting with friends is never easy and leaving the staff at Cairo Center was difficult. Who knows, maybe some day I'll return to Cairo on my way to Gaza and see those Egyptian Friends again.
Returning to the US was a breeze through the airports....the airplanes were another matter. I had called ahead with special seating requests which were basically ignored except when a flight attendant led me to my special seat. It was truly a bummer.

After eleven hours in the air, plus a layover Amsterdam the touch down in New York was welcome. Passing through all those lines and annoyances....customs, pass port checks, baggage claim...were no problem at all, thanks to my wheelchair and escort.   I was picked up at JFK by Gail and Carol from WCA; we'd travelled  to the West Bank together in 2004.

Having them there to greet me felt right. We'd shared so much and they could understand my feelings about the past six months....my disappointment about not entering Gaza....the reasons I had wanted to go there to begin with....something many people don't understand; even disagree with. We returned to Gail's apartment ton the Upper West Side, where we talked, drank wine and ate. My re-entry to the US was going well.

My husband picked me up around 7:00 and we drove back to Doylestown. Every thing looked the same...but it wasn't...my cats, especially Cleo (Cleopatra), would have very little to do with me. my foot made it difficult to go up to our bedroom on the third floor...I crawled into the bed in my little room on the second floor....though weary I couldn't get to sleep memories of Gaza, my inability to reach there; Egypt the Cairo Centre, the staff and their warmth and friendship were all racing through my mind.

I felt a thump on the bed, heard little purrs and felt Cleo working her way towards my face...she gave me kisses; I scratched her head and petted her. She curled up next to me and we both fell asleep.

All my memories of Egypt are positive except for the Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy....and not all of those two are negative. I loved walking in our neighbourhood....and finding my"home.

The next morning I had a doctors appointment....I wanted my head and foot checked out; to make sure I was okay. The doctor was reassuring and concerned; he sent me to the foot specialist. I arrived wearing my cast on the left foot and carrying my x-rays from Egypt. He viewed them, took off my cast and had his staff take new x-rays. Injury had been missed in Egypt...I had a lizfrank's fracture and dislocation...it involved the big toe and the second toe...and the bones on the top of my foot. I was shocked when he said I needed surgery.
We scheduled it for October 14...My foot was fitted with a boot/soft cast and I was to put as little weight on it as possible. The surgery was to be a short procedure; meaning I would go home the same day. The foot would be non-weight baring for a few weeks but it didn't sound like a big deal.....how wrong I was.