CPT/Co CPT: Catatonic State
Julia & Mia's Log
6 Days, An Unexpected Turn
Saturday, July 02
1:20pm Arrive @Grand Canyon. Am walking by faith & leave cane in car. Hop on shuttle to top of canyon. Upon arrival, we are awed. Not surprising that it's one of the seven wonders.
1:52pm Mia takes 1st pic & we walk slowly, pausing often to take more.
2:03pm Mia says she's not feeling well (she does this when she's tired & wants to leave). I say we just got there. Says she's not well & sits on rock. Her eyes flutter twice & she passes out. Falls on ground & thump, rt side of her head makes contact w/a rock. I crouch & call her name, but no response. Her eyes are open, but not blinking. Place my hand under temple & don't feel blood. Thank God! Call out for assistance to slowly lean her against the rock. Then call out for someone to get a Ranger. Man helps me raise her & same man send 2 guys to get a Ranger. She's catatonic. Woman (experienced hiker w/man who helped) puts electrolytes in water & hands it to me. Put the bottle to her lips & pour a lil' into her mouth. Tell her (hearing's usually last thing to go) she's got to drink slowly. Within seconds, her eyes flutter. Thank God it was only 45 seconds total. She's awake, but confused. Asks what happened & I say she passed out.
2:15pm 1st Ranger: Shawn S. Explain what happened & say to take her to ER. Calls for back-up & asks her questions to check alertness.
2:30pm 2nd Ranger: CJ M. & 3rd Ranger: Meagan S. Relay story again. I want to assure there's no TBI (traumatic braian injury). CJ agrees & they check vitals, give fluids through IV & place neck collar for support. Give them space to do their job & watch quietly. CJ asks what I do for work. Say am retired Police Officer & replies no wonder I'm calm.
2:45pm 4th Ranger: Debbie B. & 5th Ranger; Rick B. Place Mia on inflatable gurney & in ambulance.
3:00pm Rick takes me to car. Flagstaff Medical Center: 80m away. Says to leave; can't follow, they have to transfer ambulances between points.
3:10pm Put pedal to metal. En route, call friend Glorin, leave message for her & Andrew (hubby) to pray for Mia. Pray as I drive.
4:20pm Glorin calls & I inform her. Says they'll pray & please keep posted.
4:30pm Arrive @ FMC & end call. Drive was longer than expected; lots of curves. G2 ER & ask for Mia: Bed 18. I see her & am relieved, already looks better. Dr O'Brien's says Mia threw up twice @ ambulance, then hospital. Nurse conducts EKG & takes Mia for CT.
6:00pm Mia returns. Hungry & thirsty, but can't have anything 'til results in. Given ice chips instead.
7:30pm Doc returns w/results: No brain shift or hemorrhage. Gives meds to be taken when feels nausea. She's given jello & juice. We'll stay in Flagstaff 2 nights; want to be local in case something happens; will be observing her.
8:00pm Mia's discharged. God is good!
8:10pm We're hungry & need place to stay, hunger takes precedent. Check GPS for food & find Josephine's Modern American Bistro. Fritz, our waiter's very nice. Tell him we need a place to stay & he directs us.
9:00-9:45pm Look for motel/hotel, but it's 4th of July w/e & many places say "No Vacancy." Find place (phew!) & check in; don't want to keep looking. Motel's packed, not kind of place I'd take Mia. She's nervous & can't blame her so I wedge door w/a chair, put my gun on nightstand & tell her it'll be fine.
??? Don't even remember when we fell asleep. Woke up during night to check up on her.
Sunday, July 03
1:00pm Awoke & ordered room service. Stayed in. This was an observation weekend.
8:00pm Went to Barnes & Noble to get some air. Mia bought 2 books as I worked on chapter 6 in my book.
9:00pm B&N closed. Couldn't believe it! We had to leave, but luckily wi-fi in room.
9:15pm Worked on revising chapters 8 & 9 while Mia went on her MacBook.
11:00pm Lights Out
Monday, July 4
11:00am Checked out & continued to Utah. Stopped to get breakfast to go. Then stopped @ Four Corners. Nothing to it. :( Don't know what we were expecting, but maybe a lil' more pizazz. Reservations @ Apache Motel in Moab. John Wayne used to stay there when he filmed Westerns. Thought it'd be interesting.
6:30pm Checked in. Given Room #34: where John Wayne used to stay when alone. It's simple, comfortable & faces rear.. If family accompanied: they were in John Wayne suite, above #34.
7:00pm Slick Rock Cafe on Main Street for dinner. Waitress named Julia lived in Jersey very briefly, but didn't like it. Likes Florida.
8:00pm Back to room to call it a night. Heard fireworks, but surprisingly, not too much.
9:00pm-11:00pm Mia on MacBook & me doing more revisions. Then lights out.
Tuesday, July 05
11:30am Checked out. Went to the Peace Tree Cafe also on Main St, for breakfast. Jenny, our waitress was cordial & food was very good. After eating, proceeded to Colorado.
12:30pm Lunch to go @ gas station. Rain & lanes closed on highway = traffic.
6:00pm Made it to downtown Denver: like mini DC. We liked it & agreed it's place we'd consider living in. Wanted to have dinner, first place we saw w/parking in front was a really fancy McDonald's. Got the usual: me: an Asian Salad, Mia: nuggets. This place had multiple flat screen TVs, couches & comfortable chairs, even a fireplace. Reminds me of Panera Bread. Spoke w/people there who said the one on Pennsylvania & Colfax was even nicer. Have to check it out tomorrow. Took pix. Googled a place to stay & found Hotel VQ across from Invesco Field.
7:30pm Checked into Hotel VQ where Milton was working front desk. He was very pleasant & when asked if we could extend our stay, said before noon the 
following day. Went to our 5th floor room, but was hot so maintenance brought us 3 fans. Yay! I like it cold. Tried using WiFi, but couldn't connect from the 5th floor. Off to the lobby we went. Work to do.
10:00pm Getting tired so we called it a night.
Wednesday, July 06
9:30am Woke up early, let Mia continue to sleep. Called front desk to extend & had to switch rooms.
10:30am After getting things ready, awoke Mia, had to go downstairs.
11:30am Met Jerald, who was working the front desk this morning. He was very friendly & gave us room on top floor. This one was cooler & WiFi worked.
2:00pm Lunch @ the Skybox Grill & Sports Bar on the 14th floor where we met Israel, a hard-working man who's been living in Denver 15yrs. Food, prices & WiFi were very good. Continued w/book revisions; it's very tedious, but editor's great!
3:00pm Were going to pool, but lightning kept us in.
6:00pm Ventured into town & noticed other similarities to Arlington, VA & NYC. Yes, we liked it. Checked out other Mickey D's, nice, but both agreed last night's better. @ entrance, spoke w/lady named Sara who was w/Abigail, her dog. Sara won an ipad when this McDonald's opened. She sold it, added some of her money to proceeds & bought a hotdog cart. It's in downtown Denver. Says she's lived in Boston, NYC & Chicago. Does a really good Bostonian accent. Inside, Mia & I met Yazmin, who took our order & we shared how cool this place was. Said they are all supposed to be remodeled. Hope so; wouldn't mind owning one. Met her manager, Manuel Hernandez who was very professional & gave us number to comment.
8:30pm Hotel night swim. Rest of trip should be pretty mellow. No sky diving, white water rafting or anything adventurous 'til Mia's doc in Jersey says all's well.
9:30pm Rest. Revisions. Sleep.
Thursday, July 07
10:00am More revisions.
11:00am Awake Mia.
12:30 Check out.
1:00pm Lunch @ Skybox before leaving. Israel working again. Told him about blog/book. He was a reporter in Mexico & looks forward to it.
2:00pm Next stop, God willing: Nebraska. Wonder what there is to do there?