That's the distance and the time Yahoo says you should take to make the trip. If your first name is Michael and last name is Schumacher, maybe yes. It took us 7 hours and 30 minutes.
This would rank as the most memorable trip that I have ever undertaken. Not memories that I would treasure but definitely unforgettable. The day started on a good note - Dad was feeling okay and we had managed to get a go-ahead on travel from the Air India Bombay Medical team. The PTS van checked in at sharp 11 am but it was noon, Detroit time before we set out. The flight was at 8 pm, Chicago time and we planned a six hour journey. Thought we would arrive at 5 pm, Chicago time.
We made good time for about half the journey - a diaper change set us back by half an hour - but nothing worrying. The fun started when the PTS van blew its right rear tire. Blew it. No tyre left - just the rim. But no damages - Dad was fine and so was Rajat. In ten minutes, we had a cop car. When the cop realised that there was a patient on board and the driver could not change tires (How freaky is that, they drive for a living), he set about doing so himself. Amazing!!
Since that was taking time and we were running out of it, we transfered Dad, mattress and all to Ashish's Ark - a wee bit smaller than the original Noah's one - but not by much. It had Ashish and self in the front. Mom in the middle, Dad on a stretcher at the back with Rajat and four large bags and two handbags. Make that Rajat ON four bags and two handbags. Rajat with a very sore neck. By now it was 3:30 pm, Chicago time and we had run out of all buffers.
Jeej pressed on the gas only to hit peak time Chicago downtown traffic. We crawled for close to an hour and a half and reached the airport at 6:40 pm. An hour and twenty minutes to take-off time. We made it to the craft with quite a few minutes to spare. All down to supreme co-ordination - Jeej went after the luggage check-in and locating the "Wheelchair Man". Nidhi looked after Mom while Rajju and Vineet handled Dad and did a round of diaper change for good measure. What did I do? Got the boarding passes and signed stuff - more on that later.
A note of thanks to the "Wheelchair Man". He breezed us through Security, through the gate, located an aisle chair and Dad was in his seat.
Through this time, AI Chicago's requests went from painful to absurd. They had started off by saying that they would need permission to fly Dad from their Bombay Med team - if he was not flying stretcher class. Permission came with a caveat that a catheter be used. We refused. Tough to get a catheter while driving from Detroit to Chicago. They came back with a requirement that the passenger then needs to walk to the toilet. From insisting on a stretcher to making him walk - these guys were therapists beyond belief. And then came another punch. All documents requesting for travel needed to be notarized. I wonder who comes up with these things - there has to be a large bureaucracy in both heaven and hell - mankind won't be able to handle either otherwise. So accustomed are we to this shit.
In any event, AI kindly consented to arranging for a notary at check-in counter. Bureaucracy with a smile, if you please. And thats what I was signing.
And there ended the last but one scene of Act 1.
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