Newly freed hostage Alann Steen came home nearly five years after he was kidnapped in Lebanon, arriving by limousine with his wife and a registered nurse to a yellow-ribbon welcome a day later than expected.
"I finally got him home," Virginia Steen, who had been married only six months when her husband was taken captive Jan. 24, 1987, said Sunday.Steen, 52, said he felt well despite suffering a minor seizure Saturday night en route from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Clarklake, his wife's hometown and the place where she has lived while he was in captivity. The seizure set back his homecoming by a day.
"I don't know how I felt last night. I was in tears last night but now I'm back to normal," Steen said.
Virginia Steen said she was also in tears "knowing everyone was waiting."
Steen said he enjoyed the view of the lake from the home his wife has rented since last spring. Steen complained of being cold despite unusually warm weather in the 50s.
"It looks nice, it looks cold," Steen said of Clarklake, which is 75 miles southwest of Detroit.
About 35 onlookers clapped and cheered as the limousine ferrying the couple pulled into the driveway.
Roger Chapman, a spokesman at Annapolis Hospital in the Detroit suburb of Wayne, said doctors examined Steen and determined he could leave with his wife.
Steen was accompanied by a registered nurse on the trip. Charlene Teeter, a nurse and emergency room manager at the hospital, said Steen's health appeared to be holding up.
"Everything went real well. As the doctor said last night, it was just getting his medication regulated and I'm sure he'll be well now."
Steen said the levels of the medication he previously had been prescribed had not reached the levels needed to be effective, and doctors had prescribed one more drug to combat the injuries he sustained during his captivity.
A family friend later picked up a takeout pizza for Steen's first meal home.
It appeared the couple planned to settle for the time being in Clarklake. The family said they planned to return to the small resort town following a White House visit to help light the national Christmas tree scheduled for Thursday. They also planned a trip to California to visit Steen's family members.