Pajamas on the plane

My brother recently had some major surgery on his abdomen, and we were laughing on the phone today about how he cannot button his pants because of pressure causing pain on his incision. He said the most comfortable things he can wear are overalls or pajamas—neither of which is appropriate for returning to work.

I shared with him the following story about appropriate apparel.

It was December, and I was at work in my office in Richmond when I had acute severe pains in my lower abdomen. St. Mary’s Hospital was near my office, so I went to their emergency room for some relief. It was not long before my suspicions became reality, and the doctor told me that the diagnosis was appendicitis.

Cheryl, Allison and I had tickets to fly to France and the UK in six days. Jason and his family lived in France and Jeremy and his family lived in the UK. Our sixth grandchild, Darby, was born in September of that year, and I had not seen her yet. I was determined not to miss this visit with our kids and grandkids.

The surgeon told me that I needed an immediate appendectomy, and I was devastated. I told the surgeon my situation, but that did not change the urgency of the situation. She performed the surgery that afternoon, and the next morning I talked with the doctor and asked about taking our trip in five days. I told her that I was going to see a grandchild who was three months old and I had never seen her and asked her if I would be OK to make the trip.

Her response was that as my doctor she would not advise me to go so soon after the surgery, but she added, “If I were you, I would go.” That was all I needed to hear. However, she added comments about how to take care of myself on the trip. She also threw in a comment that I was not going to be able to wear my pants or anything tight fitting around my waist for several days.

Amanda went shopping for me and bought me a pair of cotton pajama pants with a drawstring. They were comfortable, so I was set to go. But Cheryl and Allison said they would be embarrassed to be seen in the airport or in planes with me wearing my pajamas. It was not going to bother me as I was going to see grandkids.

I had a doctor’s letter to request special attention during the flights, and when we arrived at the airport an electric cart was there to take me to our gate. At that point Allison and Cheryl decided that it was not so bad to travel with me and my pajama bottom.

Was I uncomfortable on the flights? Absolutely, but the discomfort was overcome by joy when we arrived in London and were greeted by Jeremy, Kimberly, Shelby and baby Darby. I said a prayer thanking the Lord for a surgeon who had empathy about her patient’s life outside the medical facilities and gave me two sets of advice.