Out of Captivity : Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

Homecoming 449when Tom, Keith, and I were without radios or radio reception. At leastthen the white noise of the static held out some hope that a transmissionsignal was somewhere in the area. Between Shane and me, therewas only the dead silence and the recognition that I was coming backto a fractured life.Unfortunately, what had fractured my marriage couldn’t be repaired,and Shane and I are no longer together. While this turn of events saddenedme, like Keith and Tom, I had long been prepared for it. Theyears that had passed since Shane’s last radio message had signaledto me that things would never be the same. In captivity, I had readiedmyself to face it. Despite the reality, my bonds with Destiney, Cody, andJoe have never been stronger. Having them in my life every day hasreminded me of what I spent five years surviving for. There’s not a daythat goes by that I don’t thank God for allowing me to be an active partof their lives again.Of all the amazing things that have happened since our return, ourtrip to Harley-Davidson and their kindness ranks among my favorites.When it came time for me to pick out my free bike, I didn’t want one ofeach in each color and level of accessories. All I wanted to do was ride,to throw a leg over and again feel that rush of wind in my face, and thedistinctive potato-potato sound of that twin-cylinder engine propellingme down a twisty road. For so long the thought of bikes had been ourcoping mechanism. Now they were our reality.The euphoria of rescue continued for days and weeks, and was graduallyreplaced by a feeling of security and contentment that I’d neverknown. I moved back to Connecticut to be near my mother and fatherand the rest of my family. I was thrilled for my Mom when she wasawarded honorary Colombian citizenship for all her work—not just toget the three of us freed, but all the other hostages remaining in Colombia.They remain very much on my mind to this day. MeanwhileNorthrop Grumman has done everything it possibly can to ease mytransition, even though I’d only been their employee for a brief time