Puncture at midnight on the E311, lesson learned about keeping a spare in good shape

Had one of those nights yesterday that makes you question every decision that led you there. Driving back from a late meeting in Dubai on the E311 and somewhere around the National Paints area I felt that unmistakable wobble and thumping from the rear, pulled over to find a screw embedded in the tire and the air hissing out way too fast for any inflator kit to handle. Opened the trunk feeling relieved I had a spare only to discover it was practically flat too, guess I hadn't checked the pressure in it for well over a year which was incredibly stupid in hindsight. Ended up calling around for emergency flat tyre repair Sharjah services at almost 1am and most places were either closed or wanted a small fortune for a night callout. Finally found car battery replacement sharjah of all places which apparently does tires too, they had someone out to me in about 40 minutes with a proper patch kit and an air compressor to sort out both the punctured tire and the spare. The guy was really professional considering the hour and didn't try to upsell me on a new tire which I appreciated given the situation. Got home around 3am exhausted but at least the repair was solid, drove on it today without any issues. Definitely going to check my spare tire pressure more regularly after this, never again.