No Vacation For Plano

I mentioned in my last post how things around home did not take a break when we were on vacation. I will now take a brief moment to explain the happenings around Plano while we were visiting Colorado.

The first news I found about was my Dad. He, somehow, broke/fractured his foot while walking around his office building. It is his right foot, so driving should be tricky for awhile, but other than that, he is okay. He has a walking boot and crutches for 6 weeks, and then he should be free to return to his normal routine. I of course, could relate to him with this news. I am one of 6 kids, and I am the only child to have ever broken a bone. In 2005 I broke my left foot (5th metatarsal) stepping off a broken stair in a dark museum barn. I was in a cast for 8 weeks and almost needed pins put in to reconnect the bones again. But, I got teased a bit for how I broke it: "stepping off a stair;" so when I heard my Dad broke his (though a less severe break than mine) I kind of got a kick out of him breaking his "just walking." I of course only found this amusing once I confirmed he was okay. ;)

My broken foot in 2005

 Even this was surprising and unfortunate news, it was relatively small news...at least in comparison to what I returned to.

An hour or so after returning home, I flipped open my laptop to check my email and update my fb status. Yes, I have been sucked in the fb vortex of "must share everything" I admit it. While doing this, I glanced at my friends' statuses and saw one person's in particular. She is a friend of my mom's and she is one of the most out-going, friendliest, positive people I know; so you can imagine my consternation when I read "Janice Klein is still missing, please pray for her and her family." on her profile. I thought to myself "Well, my mom does have a friend named Janice...that couldn't be who she is talking about though." I went ahead and googled the name and dozens of links appeared all talking about the sudden disappearance of Janice Klein, complete with pictures. I knew then, that yes, it was the Janice I was thinking about.
My mom is apart of this little, informal "coffee group" that meets every Friday morning just to chat and share some coffee with a few friends. Lorelai and I have recently accompanied my mom as a chance to get out during the week, and to indulge a bit in some "fancy" coffee. I have met Janice, and have talked to her in short increments over the last several months. In fact, a month or so ago, we were all talking and killing some time at the usual Starbucks and this sketch artist was observing us, and gave me a little something he was working on when we left.

From the left, my sister Hannah, Lorelai, my mom's friend Shelly, Janice, me, my mom, and another friend Kim

 My mind was having a hard time wrapping around the fact that she vanished, and an even harder time getting used to the fact it was a major news story.

She had been missing for 48 hrs at this point, and the tips they were receiving were puzzling and disjointed. Fliers were posted every where you turned, they had police dogs tracking all over the city, they brought in search helicopters, and they had hundreds of volunteers searching for her; including my mom and two sisters. You can read a lot more about this saga if you choose to google her; but the jest is: she was recently suffering migraines, and stomachaches and told her daughter she was going to sit in her backyard for a bit. 2 hours later they had not seen Janice, nor were able to locate her; seeing as her wallet, keys, and cell phone were still in the house.

I started sharing her picture on the internet, posting it and sharing it with friends and family. I was honestly, expecting the worst. Late last night I received a text from my mom. They had found Janice, and more importantly, they found her alive and relatively okay. She was found in a DFW airport bathroom disoriented and severely dehydrated. She was brought to the hospital and was discharged later. She does not remember much at all about the days she was missing. She had a train ticket in her pocket and a vague memory of being on the train, but that is it so far. Hopefully as the days go on, she will remember more as she regains her strength. It is still confusing how she got to the airport, why she went there, if she had help, if she escaped some sort of abduction...the questions are endless right now. The important thing is Janice beat the bleak odds, and came home to her family.

I spent some time this afternoon gladly driving around my neighborhood, taking down fliers; talking to people stopping by to give their congratulations...I felt a bit odd accepting them since I barely know Janice, but I do in fact know her. They actually found her hours before the story went national.

So surreal. 

Thanks again to all who helped share the news of her disappearance, and the happy news of her return! Next coffee meeting should be interesting. ;)

Hopefully my Plano group will take a break on the excitement for now.

M.LEWIS