remission test due to hurricane Irma "evacuation"

Nothing like the thought of being in multi-hour hundreds-mile-long traffic jam with no possibility of pulling off for restrooms to ramp up my UC anxiety. This is the first time we've ever actually evacuated for a hurricane. My spouse may have psychic abilities (knowing it was headed for us before the National Hurricane Service did) but he definitely has hurricane phobia.

Our 36 hour exodus began by car before the freeway crush began due to fears of no bathroom access (his bladder has similar demands as my UC). But then came the stress of flying all day long with little food (peanuts) and little time to even think of bathroom use, rushing from one late flight to the connecting flight. And watching the light on the airplane bathroom show "available" or "unavailable" in between being restricted from walking there due to "please remain seated" for half the flight.

I often went without water so no potential problems could assert (water can trigger a BM for me). Spent hours in line with pleasant people and pets also fleeing Irma. Our flight was one of the last out of Tampa before they closed the airport.

For those who have never been affected by a hurricane please don't blame anyone who didn't evacuate in time. It is nigh impossible to make any rational decision due to hurricane's change of path and not being able to move elders, pets, small children as well as put shutters/plywood over every window in your home, pack clothes, medicine, food, and everything you need for daily existence and hit the road. Florida has only 2 north-south highways to move millions of people and they become parking lots. Motels are not safe places to ride out hurricanes so driving for 12 hours is do-or-die.

Add in a disease like UC and most would opt to shelter in place. That's what UC and IBD does to us.

I survived the 36 hour exodus with no incidents/accidents and the return trip will start after Irma clears out. My heart goes out to those who had it/will have it worse.

Happy to hear you're safe.

Sounds dreadful, where are you staying now?

So glad you got out safely! Enjoy your stay in Denver and I hope everything is fine when you get home. All of my in-laws live in Fl, coastal GA, or PR and Cuba so we have been very anxious for the past few days. My BIL was on a cruise and they have been waiting out at sea for two days extra so far and are hoping to get back to Miami and then PR to see if their house is still standing. I thought it was odd that they took a cruise that get out of Irma's path, but that was their only means of exodus left!

Ima, I am glad you got out - and Denver sounds like a brilliant choice!
So many of us have family and friends in FLA... the anxiety about the potential damage is palpable, even in New England.
On a much more trivial level, my DH and I are scheduled to fly into Asheville on Thursday for my FIL's birthday... and I just got a text (one Saturday prior!) from United Airlines, saying their schedule will be affected. Oy.
I figure that no one knows what will happen yet, because of the unpredictability of hurricanes, as Ima described so well - but a text like this, so many days ahead, has sure added to my anxiety level!

Best to all who are in places affected by the storms this season. I am thinking of you.

imagardener2 said...
Evacuating by cruise is brilliant, bathrooms everywhere haha.

You're making it sound like a pretty decent idea, lol.....glad you are all safe!

So Hurricane Jose is currently projected to hit NYC and New England next week. Still a long ways away so it could change.

wcyy.com/early-models-suggest-hurricane-jose-will-be-a-direct-hit-on-new-england/

From one hurricane survivor to another.... (Harvey was an uninvited guest at my place and I am not impressed with his manners. Irma his nasty cousin is just as bad or worse!!) I feel your pain.

Glad you made it out safely and that your UC was trying to be on good behavior!

I hope your family and homes are safe and damage is minimal. Remember.....things are replaceable..... I know that's hard to do but if your repeat it enough it eventually seems to help.....lol...

I second Keith's suggestion. The trees should just be starting to turn, the beauty will ease your heart and the rustling of the aspens and the smells..... You sure did pick a pretty place to go.

Hang in there. My heart goes out to all those impacted by these disasters!

Clo

Really happy to hear no damage or flooding to your home. Sad news about the tree hitting 4 doors down though. Sounds like you don't know yet when you will be heading back home. Must be stressful to be in limbo like that, and your husband being sick from the flight doesn't help. Hang in there and keep us updated!

I am not a good airplane traveler and have tremendous heart for refugees enduring much worse situations than ours (war, Trump edicts). UC holding up very well! Amazing because of the stress felt, caught husbands cold, haven't had cold or flu in 10 YEARS (honest abe) because I don't fly, clean my hands all the time and live in a small town, not an international germ incubator of a plane.

They cancelled our flight to get us home today and could not rebook us back to Tampa (where car is) until 17th! I remained calm on the phone and booked us to Orlando tomorrow, no flights there either (phone op said) but I was searching online at same time and said "hmm I see a flight at 12:10". And she regrouped and made that rez. We'll rent a car and drive to our car in Tampa. (keeping up? I'm barely).

We have great neighbors who took melted stuff out of our fridge and (2) freezers. Still no power in our area and most of Florida. We have a generator due to going through Hurricane Wilma 2005 and no power for 5 days (or toilet) .Told neighbor use our gas, our generator, our water gallons, whatever you need.

Tomorrow we leave Denver and return to Florida and begin recovery which should not be awful. However haven't heard about small 600 s.f. rental property which had (2) 40' dead pine trees (not our trees) that may have gone down. Is it wrong to hope they hit the house of people I don't like (not our property)?

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Might be worth considering moving to the promised land out West (Colorado?) where there is medical MJ but no hurricanes? On the other hand your state (Florida) may have MM after the 2018 ballot measures, but don't hold your breath. And you need to consider that the oil lobby is pushing more and more states to allow fracking that can ruin private wells and aquifers that provide drinking water.