On Monday, August 8th, Kim sent a text saying that because I was her Mom she thought I would want to know that she was headed to the NIH. After a quick phone call, I started making my reservations to go with her. I had never been, and I hated to see her make the trip alone – especially since she was in so much pain and had absolutely no energy. Her appointment was on Thursday/Friday, but the schedule was loose. They wanted to do blood work , have an echo exam, and a bone marrow biopsy. The wrap up meeting was scheduled for 12:30 on Friday. Because flying to the East coast takes most of the day, I planned for an early flight on Wednesday. My only constraint was that I needed to be back in town by Saturday so I could tend Ari, while Trisha and family went to the lake. I scheduled the last flight out of Washington Dulles – leaving at 5:55pm. There was only a forty minute layover in Chicago, but I figured Southwest would make sure I wasn’t left behind. Besides, I had few choices, if I wanted to be there for all of her appointments. It seemed silly to go that far and miss the summary.
My flight on Wednesday left at 6 a.m. I drove to Chelle’s the night before so I wouldn’t have to get up so early. Getting to Bethesda went smoothly, including finding the NIH shuttle to take me to campus.
It was so great to be there with Kim for two days. We talked non-stop, and literally ran from appointment to appointment. During our time at NIH, Kim met with physical therapists, rheumatologists, and the ALPS doctors/researchers. She had an MRI of her pelvis and lower back, a bone marrow biopsy, and lots of blood work. The research nurse talked to us about ALPS and risks associated with it. Kim met with teams of doctors who explained exercises, medications, and types of doctors to consult in Boise. It was indeed ALPS. T-cells were in her bone marrow. A new medication was proposed.
The final wrap up meeting slid until 3:15, but I needed to catch my shuttle (provided by NIH) back to the airport to make my 5:55 flight. About 3, I got a text from Southwest saying my flight was delayed a half hour. My first reaction was, “Oh, that will be nice as I won’t have to rush so much to get to the airport.” Then it hit me. I only had a 40 minute layover in Chicago. Leaving thirty minutes late meant there was no chance of making the flight.
While I was waiting for the 3:30 shuttle, I called Kim to tell her my flight woes. She said, “I should call Southwest.” I said I would see if I could get a number at the shuttle desk, but there was nobody there who knew a thing. I woman who was also waiting for the shuttle said, “The number is 1-800- I FLY SWA”. Then she added, do you know what numbers those are? On a cell phone, there is no number associated with a letter, so I was clueless. She looked it up for me on her computer and told me the translation. I called and the agent told me there was no other flight that night, so if I missed my connection, I would be in Chicago for the night. He hesitated and then said, “Can you get to BWI?” I said, “BWI, I don’t know. What is BWI?” He replied, “Baltimore Washington International.” I said, “I’m waiting for a shuttle to Dulles that should come any minute. I don’t know how to get to BWI.” A woman in the room interrupted me with, “There is a shuttle coming for BWI to this very spot. It should be here any minute.” I told the guy I could get to BWI. He said, “Great, I’ll put you on a 5:15 flight that IS on time.” I said, “I’ve already printed boarding passes. What do I do?” He said, “When you get to BWI, you’ll have to get a new boarding pass.”
Whew! However, by now it was 3:40 and I had no idea how far away BWI was. The shuttle driver was cowering in the corner saying traffic was HORRIBLE. He had left BWI at 1:30 and was just now getting to the NIH two hours later! It was normally a one hour drive, but on Friday, rush hour had begun. I said, “Rush hour at 1:30, how is that?” He said, “It happens every Friday. It’s just crazy.” I called southwest back who told me I had no other options, and wished me luck.
All the way to the airport, I kept thinking, “I so am not going to make it. My flight leaves in an hour and a half and I don’t even have a boarding pass.” I got to the airport just before 5. The first thing I heard was an announcement saying, flight 709 was boarding. ARGGG. I figured I’d talk to the ticket agent and see if they would put me on a flight with another carrier. I had promised Trisha weeks ago that I could take Ari, and spending the night in Baltimore hardly seemed appealing. The southwest agent greeted me and said I needed to print a boarding pass at the kiosk. As I got it printed, she watched me. As I finished, she approached and told me I needed to go thru security in the basement as it was faster. I ran down the stairs, only to find the line moving like molasses. I waited my turn. When I got to the agent at the front of the line, I said, “I realize I’m not going to make my flight”. He said, “Okay, well, this is how the gates are laid out. You have to go up some stairs then back down. Gate 1 is on the left.” I flew down the corridors dragging my laptop, carryon luggage, and a backpack. I got to the gate before the plane left, but the door was shut. The lines for the ticket agent were forty people long. I saw one woman at the front of the line say something to the agent and run for my gate. I followed her. Another fellow followed me. The door to the gate was still closed and no one was around, but miraculously, as we got there someone did come through the door.
The woman said, “ I love you guys. I’ll always flight Southwest because you take care of me.” He said, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. We are all ready to leave. I may be able to help. “ She handed him her boarding pass. He said, “Sorry, this isn’t an official boarding pass. This is just a travel document. You’ll have to go upstairs and get a boarding pass. You’ll never make it. We are leaving NOW.” I handed him my boarding pass, and he sent me running down the jetway. The fellow behind me didn’t have a real boarding pass either. I was the only one of the three who made the flight.
I could not believe it. I made it. I looked back on all the helpful people who had made it possible. It truly takes a village sometimes. Thanks to you all!
