When I asked my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group to pray that none of us would get sick this time when we flew to Oregon, I forgot to ask them to pray that we wouldn't ride in an ambulance. Because really, what's a vacation without a trip to the ER in an ambulance?I spent all of Tuesday getting us packed for our trip, then picked up the girls from their schools and rushed home so we could meet Gary. We then packed the car and headed for the airport. We parked the car in economy parking, boarded the shuttle, and made our way to the terminal. We successfully made it through security, which was a feat in itself because despite making FIVE trips to DPS, I still do not have a Texas driver's license. So instead, I brought my three temporary licenses, a letter from DPS, my birth certificate, my marriage certificate, my Social Security card, my Sam's Club card, three children who look like me, and a note from my mother to prove that I am really who I say I am. Just kidding about the last item. I brought all the others, though. But I digress.
As we were walking to our gate to get on the plane, I had Luke in my Moby Wrap. At some point, my ankle turned under me, I stumbled, and fell forward. I was able to catch myself so that I wouldn't fall on top of Luke, but not before Luke's sweet little head hit the concourse. He immediately started screaming and I was panicked. A passerby told us to file an incident report with the airline, so we continued to the gate and told the gate agent. She called the paramedics and asked us to wait nearby. I started to lose it. Fortunately, they arrived quickly and began looking at Luke. He was asleep by now but we were able to wake him up and he began smiling and cooing. The paramedics determined that he was probably OK, but since he was so young, felt that he should be checked out by a physician.
At this point, the gate agent told us that we needed to decide if Gary and the girls should go ahead and get on the plane or stay with me. Since there were not enough seats on flights to Oregon the next day for all of us, I sent him on to Portland and I stayed behind with Luke and the gate agent rebooked us on the 9:30 am Wednesday flight at no charge. Bless her heart.
I figured that we would just walk to the ambulance outside (since both of us were completely fine), but the EMTs insisted on transporting us on the stretcher...through the concourse, through
security, through the main terminal where everyone was checking in...all the while, Luke is in my arms and smiling and giggling at everyone we're passing by. I was fairly sure we were going to end up on the evening news. Oy.We took a short ambulance ride to a local hospital and as we're disembarking, I'm thinking “This will actually be good that we're coming here by ambulance. They can just drop us off in the back and we'll get in and out of here in no time. Maybe we'll even make that 9:05 pm flight tonight!” Um, not so fast, lady with the giggly baby.
They wheeled us through the back entrance, past all the examining rooms, and through the double doors into the lobby, stopping in front of the reception desk and a waiting room of people staring at us. “Hop down!” the paramedic said cheerfully. Hello? What's the point of coming in an ambulance if you don't get to bypass the waiting room? I could have done that in my own car and saved about $500, thankyouverymuch. OK, a slight exaggeration. I couldn't have actually driven straight to the reception desk. I would have had to park in the parking lot and walk in. But you get my drift.
I proceeded to sit in a swine flu-infested waiting room with about 50 of my un-closest friends for three and a half hours before they called our name. Including a couple of interesting characters, one of whom felt free to shout obscenities at the staff whenever he felt like it. And someone whom I never did figure out if he/she was a man or a woman. And a blessed couple who sat next to me who were so incredibly nice to us and visited with me while I ate dinner out of the vending machine and waited for our name to be called. They were a bright spot in an otherwise out-of-body experience.
While I was waiting, I realized that I had in my carry-on bag both of Leah's binkies, the hand sanitizer, the baby wipes, and the Clorox wipes, which meant that Gary was on a germ-infested airplane with no way to clean it, and no way to soothe Leah. I'm pretty sure I got the better end of that deal.
After finally getting called and being examined by the doctor, I took Luke down to get a CT scan. He was such a good boy, laying there on the table, sucking his binky and looking at all the lights. Fortunately, the CT scan came back clear and they decided he was completely fine. Thank goodness. I was SO relieved to hear that he was OK. I was terrified to let him go to sleep for fear that he wouldn't wake up, but once they determined that he was normal, I relaxed a bit.
I walked back to the reception desk and said, “Excuse me? The EMT told me that you transport people a lot between here and the airport and that I should ask you to arrange for a ride.” The receptionist looked up at me (actually, she glared at me) and said, “Um, I'm not aware of that, but you can call a cab if you want.” I'd like to point out here that Luke's car seat has already been put on a plane and is now landing in Oregon with the rest of my family. So I put him back in the Moby Wrap, called a cab and waited outside. Our cab arrived within a few minutes, and we took a quick ride back to the airport, with me praying fervently all the while that we wouldn't get into an accident since Luke was not properly restrained. We arrive safely, and I make my way to baggage claim to borrow a car seat from the airline, then hop on the parking shuttle. It's now 11:15 pm. The parking shuttle driver was kind enough to wait while I installed the car seat in the van and we were finally on our way home.I got home at midnight and set the alarm for 5:30 am. I didn't sleep much that night but it was wonderful to be in my own bed. We got up quickly the next morning, grabbed some breakfast, drove to the airport while watching the sunrise (which was magnificent), and had a very smooth flight, where Luke napped contentedly in the Moby while I sipped Diet Coke and watched one of my favorite movies. Bliss.
I learned a couple of things. I learned that as independent as I am, I don't like being that far away from my amazing husband. I missed him terribly. I also realized that it's not really me keeping everyone healthy. That's God's job. And God can do it without Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer. And I was reminded that He is the Great Physician and can keep my sweet baby safe despite my stumbles.
I'm thankful that our vacation was much more mundane after that. It was so wonderful to be with family for Thanksgiving, and to introduce Luke to my brother and sister-in-law. We arrived home safely yesterday and have been relaxing, enjoying each other's company, and catching up on sleep. So, all's well that ends well. :)
