Family comes through in untenable situations

This winter I spent some time in both retro and introspection. The results aren't very good, I'm afraid.

I showed some promise as a child, but when puberty arrived, my concerns turned solely to girls, alcohol, and horses. I never developed any long term goals like my more mature friends did.

I've always had the proclivity to act on impulse, with no thought of the results my actions might bring. I can think of very few untoward events in my life for which I wasn't solely responsible. When I got myself into untenable situations I played “Armless John” and appealed to my siblings to see me out of trouble. It's happened a good number of times, and my family has always come through.

Myriad people had to help me get home from Brazil. Many friends contributed to a Go Fund Me effort, initiated by yet another friend. It's humbling for me to think of the sacrifices I put good people through while I was sick and helpless in a Brazilian hospital.

Had I not been stupid enough to trust a person by giving him access to all of my money, the problem would never have existed. And had I the forethought to purchase medical insurance, the financial onus would have been minor. But of course I did neither.

It was one of my sisters who suffered most from my foolishness. She spent weeks of time, plus a lot of money organizing and arranging the trip so I could get out of Brazil and the cursed hospital.

I was too weak physically and too drained emotionally to do anything more than make pitiful pleas for help. All it took was a cryptic text to my sister saying, “I'll need you in Cuiabá.”

My total helplessness was obvious to her, and in just a couple days I was told that she would be at the hospital in a week, and for me to be ready to travel. It was the first modicum of hope I enjoyed in a month.

Finally, she arrived. It took her only a half hour, and without being able to speak Portuguese, she handled all the intricate paperwork and finances necessary to get me out of that madhouse. I know Brazilian culture and am fluent in Portuguese, but would be incapable of handling that chore, even in good health.

She had the taxi waiting, and after the bureaucratic ordeal, we headed for the airplane, going through five or six airports to get back to Montana. The trip was meticulously organized, with little wait between planes, plus a wheelchair for me at every change.

But there were some difficult times and some horrible airports. One change of flights entailed getting a taxi to another airport 45 minutes distant. While getting into the vehicle I fell between the front and back seats, and it took a couple men to get me seated.

Ironically, the best part of the trip was the feared Polícia Federal, who were our last stop before we boarded the plane for Orlando, Florida. I had overstayed my visa for a year or so, and was told that the total fine would be about $300. But I worried.

The man thumbed through my passport a few times, then took it into the back. I was extremely anxious when he returned, and more so when he said something about $3,000. When I asked further, he explained that the $3,000 would have to be paid only if I were to come back to Brazil. I was off the financial hook.

The flight to Orlando was a wretched experience, and my sister suffered as much as I. She had left Montana only the day before and hadn't slept, except for naps on airplanes.

So, after spending weeks on the telephone, plus two days of non-stop flying, she took me from the geodesic center of South America to the ER in Missoula, where she had made arrangements before she left.

After I was back I learned that a good friend had set up a Go Fund Me program to which many of my acquaintances contributed, and whom I haven't even thanked yet. Embarrassing.

Incidents of the same vein but less serious than the one in Brazil have been frequent in my life. Sometimes I think I subconsciously set myself up for situations that leave me helpless and homeless. I don't know, but it's happened a number of times.

Another sister has generously given me a place to live, so, thanks to both of them, I have a semblance of a life again. Hopefully, I'm too old to create another untenable situation, then be forced to call on the goodwill of family and friends to extricate me.

But you never know. I might come up with something.