Planes, Trains and Automobiles...medics, ambulances and EKGs

Another title for this post may have been “DISASTROUS start, with an Excellent ending.”

Our time in England, as previously mentioned, was excellent.  Although we were flying out on Saturday morning, our friends in England had a family affair to attend and left Friday night.  My friend called a cab company to come pick us up and take us to Heathrow airport the next morning.  We were quoted £95 for the trip.  We had no way to contact the company, so just prayed they would arrive at 7 am the next morning.

We woke early Saturday morning to start our anti-malarials, then finish packing and get the kids ready.  I wasn’t feeling very good, but just attributed it to stress, lack of sleep, and waking early.  As the morning progressed, I just started to feel worse.  Very very nauseous (a known side effect of the anti malarial).

After Marc finished loading the vehicles with our stuff (think 12 pieces of luggage, 2 car seats, stroller and numerous carry ons), I found out the company sent 2 cars.  Not 1 van as requested.  They expected £95/car.  Which was outrageous.  So after holding my ground and reminding them it was their mistake, we settled on a fair price for the trip and were on our way.

Heathrow airport is about an hour away from where we were staying.  As we drove I started to feel worse and worse.  At one point we actually had to stop the car so I could jump out and attempt to throw up on the side of the road.  Not cool!  By the time we go to the airport I was barely able to hold on.

This is where it gets exciting.  The guy who had our luggage quickly unpacked his car and took off.  So there are 12 pieces of luggage on the curbside.  No problem…we’ll just grab a porter.  But of course there was no porter within sight.  The kids are still in the other car staying warm.  I am on the side of the curb with my head in a paper bag.  At this point I am wavering between passing out and throwing up.  The cab driver was mostly patient, but he was eager to get going.  Marc was still looking for a porter.  And it was freezing outside. 

Marc came back without a porter and the cab driver saying he had to get going.  I couldn’t lift myself off the curb, let alone worry about all our luggage.  Marc went to the security and asked them for some assistance.  THEY WERE AMAZING.  They called a porter for us.  As they came closer, one of the security guys saw how sick I was looking and asked if I needed a medic.  After some pause, I said YES. 

So a lovely medic (Sally) rides up on her bike and offers to assist me.  Kids are buckled in their stroller, porter has baggage, and the security have now gone to get me a wheelchair.  We get inside, where it was so much warmer, and the medic does her check.  I can barely speak because I feel so sick.  Any movement and I am sure I will pass out.  Sally, my medic, can’t get a clear check on my vitals because my blood pressure seemed so low.  So she calls an ambulance to come. 

Needless to say, it was starting to get very stressful.  I felt horrible.  We hadn’t checked in and were supposed to be flying to Entebbe, Uganda in just a couple hours.  An almost 9 hour flight awaited us.  At that point we had to consider missing our flight and spending the night in the hospital (and what in the world would we do with ALL that luggage??).  I had an EKG done and Sally indicated I wasn’t having a heart attack (good to know), but that my chart indicated something that was not standard textbook.  Great!  She recommends I get that checked out.  Umm….I’m moving to Africa today.

The story takes a turn for the better at this point. Still dizzy, but I did not feel like I would throw up.  We decided to check in, and if I needed once inside the terminal we could call the medic back.  I stayed in the wheelchair as I could not stand up yet without feeling like I would pass out.  The wheelchair turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

British Airways had us go through the Business Class check in.  It was not stressful at all as they weighed each bag and tagged them.  And our amazing porter stayed with us through the whole ordeal!  He was amazing.  We needed someone to push the wheelchair as Marc was busy pushing the kids.  So BA provided one.  We went right through security (no lines for us).  Then was taken directly to our gate for boarding.  The guy literally pushed me right up to the door of the plane.  What started out as an extremely stressful morning was starting to go smoother.

The 9 hour flight to Entebbe went well.  The kids did amazing.  We even got a small nap in.  This next part of the trip was what I anticipated as being the most stressful.  It was midnight when we got in line for Immigration.  Kate started to melt down.  That worked to our favor, as we were ushered to the FRONT of the line.  I guess at midnight no one wants to hear a 3 year old screaming and crying.

We got our VISAs and headed to collect our luggage.  Again I was feeling anxious about collecting all of our bags and getting through Customs next.  Well the day ended amazingly as the Director of Pilgrim Africa had been on our flight and met us at baggage claim.  He completely took care of us.  We collected all our bags.  EVERY SINGLE PIECE ARRIVED IN TACK!  Then we walked right past customs to friends waiting outside.  Not sure how we skipped Customs, but I wasn’t complaining.

So although our very long day started out terribly, we are thankful for the grace of God as we see His provision in so many of the little details throughout the day.  Our day ended so well and we were all thrilled to be in Uganda safe and sound.