The week had been kind of incredible
but I was ready to go home.
Hong Kong was a blur.
Britain had given it back
a year and half before
and now I had visited
– so things were really changing for the place!

I’d finished the work
I had come to do
and ready to go home
so I rushed to catch a cab
to the airport
so I could hurry up
to the plane I’d be on
for the next 24 hours or so.

The taxi moved swiftly
but I didn’t know how long in advance
I needed for these international flights
so I dashed out of the car
and took a bad step on the curb.

My ankle did something really wrong.
I felt it, but I couldn’t react to it.
I had places to be.
So I skipped along to Check-In,
then hobbled to wait to board the plane.

English was fairly universally spoken
but I was still a stranger in a strange land.
I wasn’t comfortable asking for things.
I ended up buying a soda
to lay against my foot.
I waited for other people to file into Business Class
before I made my way
so I wouldn’t hold others up.
I edged my way to the seat.

When we got in the air
I explained my predicament, and asked for some ice.
They were very helpful but hours of flight
left me unsurprisingly swollen.
I was told to keep my leg up.
I was taking all the advice I could.

I stayed in place a lot.
I went to the bathroom very little.
The trip was long anyway
but it was longer due to my condition.

When we arrived in New York
I was last one off the plane
and as I leaned on everything to head off
one of the attendants suggested a wheelchair.
“Could I?” I asked, overjoyed. I’m a big fan of wheelchairs.
My parents were waiting to pick me up at JFK.
They knew nothing about what was going on.
They would get such a kick out of this!

I don’t know what went through their heads
when they saw their only child arrive
late off an international flight,
suddenly handicapped.
but I do not believe my parents experienced a kick.

We went directly to a doctor
and it was verified that I only had a sprain
and I grew up to be the healthy man
that I eventually grew past.

And I got to walk with a cane for a while!