Skip to main content

Manchester

I’m thrilled to report that my transatlantic flights were uneventful! It was my first time flying out of State College during a home football game. It was pretty cool to see the filled stadium. 

For those who don't know, the stadium is the 2nd largest in the US and 4th largest in the world.

Flying out of Philly, there was the brightest rainbow I’ve ever seen – a double rainbow at that. I’m not really into signs or omens, but I took comfort and joy in seeing the rainbow.

I don't need extra O2 for short flights (<1 hour) at lower altitudes, but I definitely needed it on the transatlantic flights. At one point, I unhooked from the oxygen and got up to use the bathroom. I was gone maybe 3 minutes, but when I measured my O2 saturation, it was only 77%. I didn't really feel short of breath. This indicates that my O2 on the 2022 return flight from Germany must have been horrifically low, because I couldn't even walk a few steps. 

In Manchester, my friend/colleague Carol and I enjoyed the gorgeous art and architecture and scrumptious food (German/Turkish doner, Chinese, Indian, fish & chips, etc.). We spent an afternoon in Liverpool and intended to visit the Tate Museum...but it was closed for renovations, except for a tiny exhibit in another building.

Gotta say, we were not expecting to see cloth acrobats at the conference banquet!

Hanging with the Beatles in Liverpool


The Refuge, a former insurance building that has a stunning, preserved interior and a fabulous restaurant.

The bee is the symbol of Manchester.

So excited to find doner and introduce Carol to her first doner experience. 


Anglican cathedral




Central library

Enlarged photo of a textile pattern. Manchester (where the industrial revolution began) was the site of a calico bleaching factory. It dyed and produced thousands of patterns, and the dye turned the river various colors. This was the world's premiere calico printer.


My next transatlantic flight will likely be in November 2025, when I will (hopefully) go to Ireland to give a keynote address.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2024 at 3:13 PM

    Hooray!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristenSeptember 15, 2024 at 3:14 PM

      Sorry I forgot to sign in

      Delete
    2. Esther PrinsSeptember 16, 2024 at 9:50 AM

      Thank you! Not sure if you are Kristen G (Ithaca) or Kristen R (Boulder)...

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2024 at 6:30 PM

    Fantastic! So glad that you had a successful and exciting long-distance trip! Bo

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2024 at 6:44 PM

    Fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AlisaSeptember 15, 2024 at 7:01 PM

    Yay! So very happy it was a great time & all worked out. God is awesome!!!! Hugs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther PrinsSeptember 16, 2024 at 9:51 AM

      Thanks, Alisa! We will be in DC for a vb tournament in February. I'll keep you posted. Let's do pupusas at El Rinconcito again!!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tipping point

Dr. El Khouray came in yesterday and determined that I'd reaching a tipping point, meaning the worst is behind me and I've continued to show improvement. This was really, really good news to hear. Proning continues to be very effective, so I've spent a couple hours each morning and afternoon on my stomach, in addition to sleeping on my stomach at night. In the afternoon I invariably fall asleep since there is nothing to do other than listen to an audio book! I'm able to move about the room more; yesterday I did something like 4 little loops with an occupational therapist.  Yesterday I was down to about 11-13 L oxygen/minute. The case manager told me that to go home I need to be at 6 L or less. Today I'm at 6 L and holding steady with my oxygen saturation rate. I haven't talked with a doctor yet today, but I think this means that Monday is still a realistic release date. Until today I had thought that Monday would be out of reach; I didn't want to set myself ...
35 comments
Read more

Back in the hospital

Until about 1pm I had been doing pretty well. I even spent part of the morning off of oxygen during a student's comps exam on Zoom. Then out of nowhere I felt really short of breath; even on 6L (maximum) oxygen my saturation dipped into the 50s at one point. Leland had the brilliant idea of putting both cannulas (oxygen tubes) in my nose--one from the oxygen concentrator (6L) and one from the portable oxygen tank (5L). That helped stabilize my oxygen level until the ambulance came.  So I'm back in the ICU on high-flow oxygen. :( The doctors are investigating various possibilities, including pneumonia, some other kind of infection, side effects of Tagrisso (my cancer medication), or ??? I'm back on heparin (blood thinner), antibiotics, and steroids. My oxygen and heart rate are slowly starting to improve.  Just this morning I had called the Mt. Nittany physicians group to see if I could make an appointment with any of the 3 pulmonologists in their practice. No openings until...
35 comments
Read more

transatlantic flight

The last time I took a transatlantic flight, I barely survived. I had to be carted off the plane by EMS personnel because I was too short of breath to walk even a few steps. Tomorrow I'm flying to England. Needless to say, I'm hoping this flight is uneventful. I'm relieved that my friend and colleague Carol is flying with me (we are presenting at the British Educational Research Association conference in Manchester). I wouldn't have felt comfortable making the trip by myself. I will bring a heavy backup battery for my portable oxygen concentrator because airlines stipulate that you need enough battery power to last 1.5 times the flight duration. I'm not looking forward to having to wear the concentrator tube plus my glasses and a mask (too much COVID still going around) for the 7- to 8-hour flight -- lots of tubes, bands, and apparatuses on my ears, nose, and face. I am grateful that my blood thinners are working and that my lungs have improved enough that I can o...
15 comments
Read more