Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group
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It's Sunday, and I just got in from the airport down here in Mexico. Now that my trip is safely over I can say it: I was almost in a mid air collision on the flight down, y'all! If not for the quick reactions of the Mexican airline pilot flying the plane I was on, I might not be here.
Saturday there as a lot of congestion at JFK airport in New York City. A JFK control tower error almost caused our plane to have a mid-air collision with another plane that was given permission to land on our same plane's runway at the same time as us. We had to abort our landing. The pilot suddenly pulled the nose up and gunned the engines and got us out of the near accident. When we did land, we had to sit on the tarmac until the JFK control tower sorted itself out again.
So through no fault of their own, then, the Mexican airline got me from New York to Mexico City 2 hours late for my connecting flight on to Chiapas. Instead of washing their hands of me like the US airline did in New York the week before when I passed through, though, the Mexican airline put me up for the night at its own expense in the Holiday Inn of Mexico City with two USD$20 meal vouchers for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. Plus, my shuttle between the airport and the hotel was free.
That nice hospitality after such a stressful trip made up for the near mid air mishap. I was surprised at how my PTSD wasn't triggered that much by it. I travel by air a lot, so I was already in an airline accident once before about 10 years ago.
Again, it was in the States, that time in Chicago's Midway airport. The brakes failed on the US airliner on which I was traveling. That meant that after landing, the plane couldn't stop. It went right off the end of the runway onto the airport grass, then through the fence surrounding the airport and on into the airport parking lot. There our airliner took out a few parked cars.
Nobody got hurt, but the image of the airliner out in the parking lot on top of some parked cars made good tv footage, so we were on the local news for our little adventure.
It's good to be "home" again in Mexico, trip over, safe and sound.
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Hey All...I hope that you have a lovely, peaceful beginning of your weekI have a bunch of chores that need doing but may put them off til tomorrow and just hang out with my landlord/roomie todayWhat about you?...Anything special going on?Have a great day and take good care of you!!..Xo
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Once again I've had a fever today. I'm not going to the hospital because that's a huge waste of time but I did schedule a dr appointment for Wednesday afternoon.
So glad you're ok!
It was when I was describing the aerial near miss to them myself that it actually hit me what had happened. Funny how that goes. Sometimes the story doesn't get to you until you tell it. At least, that's how it happens sometimes with me.
When the pilot finally did safely land the plane the whole plane full of passengers cheered and clapped for him. He was our true hero.
"May you be safe; May you be healthy; May you be happy; May you be free of all suffering; May you be grateful for all the blessings in your life." (The last statement is my own addition!)
Our chaplaincy department was called the Spiritual Wellness Department at my hospital, so that last line was right in tune with my department's purpose at the hospital. My brain surgery patients ranged from having had operations for brain trauma from car accidents, bullet wounds, then there were those who had had tumors removed, and we had quite a few stroke survivors, too.
Heavy conversations 20 times a day, not to mention when paged to run to the ER, so that prayer really helped release the stress from the last conversation between doors before bringing in baggage from the last conversation into the next patient's room.
My experience was that it really works, so thanks for saying it for me!