After checking our bags and wending our way through an enormously long line at security, where we said our good-byes to Bill, we headed down to our gate, ready for an 11:30 AM flight to Chicago. Therefore, we were most ready when we finally boarded at around 1:00 PM (Fortunately, I had thought to bring lunch with us, which helped to pass the time, and new reading and activity materials also provided a diversion for the kids. Plus Meredith made stop-motion animation of her new stuffed rabbit with her camera. What will they think of next?). The plane was bigger than others I’ve flown on lately out of OKC; we had whole two seats on each side of the center aisle (Golly!). I sat with Thayer (he had a window seat) and Meredith was just across the aisle. C’était parti!
I heard the people in the row in front of us speaking in French, which I found a bit unusual for OKC, but of course made me happy. Meredith determined that they were a mother and grown-up son. We took off around 1:30 and I was feeling rather relaxed about the travel itinerary, as our connecting flight wouldn’t depart until 5:30 in the evening.
About 20 minutes after take-off, having just received our beverages (we were pretty far back in the plane, therefore among the first served), the drink cart was parked just in front of our row. Suddenly, the man in front of me practically hurdled over the cart and hustled to the front of the plane. I became briefly fearful: was there some kind of scuffle up there? Were we safe? Quite a number of people, including both flight attendants, were hopping over seats and grabbing supplies.
It soon became clear that there was a medical emergency of some kind, then the plane started to turn sharply and began a rapid descent, the likes of which I have never experienced. The captain came over the loudspeaker to let us know that we were making an emergency landing in NorthWest Arkansas (which turned out to be in Denton, home of Wal-Mart). Word passed through the plane that the ill passenger was having a seizure. Turns out, Meredith’s seatmate and his two travel companions were also doctors (one cardiologist, one neurologist…), but other medical personnel were on top of the situation, including, especially, the man seated directly in front of me.
Once we landed, we taxied at an extremely fast clip toward the airport terminal, where Fire Department EMTs quickly boarded the plane. A fuel tank also arrived, as we had burned quite a bit of gas in that brief but speedy descent. Fortunately, everyone remained calm and let the experts get to work.
The Frenchman, Léo, is in fact an emergency room doctor. I chatted briefly with him and his mother after he had returned to his seat and we were back underway to Chicago (we left NXA around 2:30), and the entire cabin enjoyed free drinks and snacks for the remainder of the flight. This made the whole plan very chatty, of course! So I learned that he is from just outside Paris, but got more information as we were waiting for our gate-checked hand luggage. He and his mom were in OKC for a wedding. The bride and groom were also on the flight, on their way to St. Croix for their honeymoon.
I then met the bride, Elizabeth, who has just finished medical school. I told her I lived in central OKC, and she replied, “I grew up in Crown Heights and we got married at Our Lady.” “And, you know,” she continued, “my mom is active with the Alliance Française.” And then it all came together. The Parisian visitors, the wedding, and my friend Ginny! Léo is the godson of Ginny’s husband, Bob, and they have stayed close all these years later. I had never met their daughter, but knew about her and about her wedding, and have spent time at her home. Quelle coïncidence!
Turns out that Léo and his mom were on our same flight to Paris, so I had the chance to chat with them a bit more before boarding our connection. This much longer trip, almost 8 hours altogether, proved blissfully uneventful. We had certainly had enough excitement for one day of travel.
1 comment:
I love coincidences! By the way, Elizabeth went to Camp Chaverim when she was a girl and was a special friend to my daughter, Mira.
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