Sam stays quiet, for a few minutes, or miles, if you prefer. Then again, he doesn't talk that much normally, so this isn't anything new. Still, I can barely stand the silence. His face is turned to the window, gazing into the hazy morning light as we drive down the highway. I can't help but think that I've hurt him someway.
I finally can't take it anymore and turn on the radio. The electrical system should be primed enough so there won't be any problems. In a second, I hear the distinctive twang of country music blaring out. I'm not sure, but I think it might be Blake Shelton.
"What's that?" Sam asks, finally looking at me again.
"Sorry. I forgot that a country music station starts overriding the signal once we get to the Parkway. I think it has illegally boosted its power, a little. I only started to pick up this far west a year or so ago. Let me change it. There's a free trial on satellite going on. We'll be able to pick something better up no matter where we go."
I switch bands. Adrianna Grande replaces Blake. At least I can stand her, not that much out of place from what I should have been listening to.
"Free trial. Is that why we aren't flying? Are you so cheap that you can't even get an extra plan ticket?" Sam began to whine, voice cracking even worse.
"Actually, I have a medical condition that prevent me from flying. At least for long periods of time."
"So, you're afraid to fly. Big deal. You could work around, uh, it," Sam yawned. He continued even after he finished speaking. His mouth stays open for almost half a minute.
"No. My head could explode."
"What?! What is with you? Your head won't explode," Sam stared at me in disbelief, before he yawned again.
"Well, not literally. It started back in college, my first spring break. Rick, Will, and I were going to fly down to Daytona to meet up with Pete, and some of our high school friends. It would be the first time we saw him since he transferred. It was also my first time in a plane. Everything started out okay. I was a little scared, but not really. Both Rick and Will had flown many times, so they assured me.
"A few minutes into the flight, my head started to hurt. I had had a cold the last week, so I just thought I was still recovering. No big deal. The headache got worse, fast. By the time we were halfway to Florida, I could barely hold my head up. The pain was so bad, I had to keep my eyes shut. The pain was right behind them. This is when Will, the pre-med student, asked the flight attendant for something to ease for the pain. He got me an aspirin, which I took immediately.
"It barely worked. The pain eased a little, but I still could barely keep my eyes open. Just before we landed, I got a nosebleed, both nostrils at once. Sure, I've had nosebleeds before, but not both sides at once. I started to get scared. There wasn't much blood, but still. The bleeding stopped, mostly, after I got off the plane. Strangely enough, it was Rick who suggested I go to the hospital after we got our bags. I balked, but they ganged up on me.
"The taxi dropped me off at the ER, while the others went to the hotel. Now, this was on a Saturday night. The ER was packed. Apparently, there had been some sort of major traffic accident. I waited almost two hours before anyone saw me. By this time, the nosebleed had ended and my headache had mostly stopped. Still, the doctors suggested we run multiple tests, as some of the worst case scenarios were pretty fatal.
"The simple tasks took no time at all. However, the CT scan had a long wait. It wasn't until Sunday morning that I got in. The technician stared to joke with me while the very long scan processed. I've met quite a few radiological techs over the years, and every single one of them, men and women, all seem to have this quirky sense of humor. Always joking during the procedure. I am just lying there, trying not to move. It's stupid.
"Late Sunday night, still hadn't been to the hotel and no one came asking about me, I got the results from the scan. They needed to run another test, as they said they may have spotted something, but they weren't going to tell me without some more proof. Sometime after midnight, I got more scans taken of my head. Same wise-cracking tech. Why?
"Cut to the chase. Late Monday evening, the doctors finally came to see me with the results. When I was younger, I had multiple ear and sinus infections. It got so bad, I needed tubes in my ears to help drain excess fluids. However, I developed a complication mid-surgery. My mother had the operation halted before the tubes could be placed.
"Apparently, scar tissue had formed. Normally, it just caused my sinuses to take longer to drain. However, when I got into the pressurized cabin of the plane, my sinuses began to swell. Since they were already fairly full from my cold, they exerted pressure in my head. The scar tissue prevented them from draining fast enough, hence the headache. The pressure caused a few smaller blood vessels to burst, hence the nosebleed. I was lucky the flight hadn't been longer, otherwise the aspirin could have led to a larger nosebleed. Or worst, my sinuses could have swelled so much, they might have burst. My head wouldn't have exploded, per se, but there could have been considerable damage.
"The hospital wanted to admit me for an immediate operation, but I refused. I din't have them time, and my insurance might not have covered it. I was still getting used to the plan my mother foisted once when I started college. Anyway, I was let out. It was early Tuesday morning.
"None of my friends came to see me. Rick have met this girl, and the two quickly hit it off, especially after they found out they were both in Lexington. This was how Rick met his future wife, by the way. The guys were having so much fun, that they had forgotten about me. It was the first time they had abandoned me. I told them what happened, hoping to get some fun in, when Pete reminded me that I wouldn't be able to fly back home. I was going to have to ride a bus. Meaning I would have to leave by the next day to get back to school on time.
"I gave Pete my plane ticket, and he helped get a bus ticket. I left Tuesday night. They got to stay until Friday morning. I never got the operation to cure my condition. I just thought it would be easier to never fly again. I'm sorry I forgot to mention this to you, but it won't be too long before we get there. Trust me."
Sam is asleep, his head against the window. It doesn't look like he's been asleep too long. Maybe he heard most of my story. I hum a few bars of Rhianna before I turn to one of the news stations. We're almost at the West Virginia border.
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