half-tied ribbons

unforgettable, cont. part 2

• Posted by Kristy on January 16th, 2008 filed in the fam

so the lady who works for the airline is like, “are you SURE it’s out of place…sometimes it looks worse than it is, blah, blah, something about ice from the bar next door.” and i’m like, “are there airport paramedics or anything? can you please call someone?” so she went to call help while i got ice at the bar. lilly was still screaming bloody murder at this point and wouldn’t let the ice anywhere near her mouth. we sat down at the gate and waited. i called mike crying. abby said, “mom, i think she’s gonna be unhappy for the rest of her life!” i’m sure it all seemed like an eternity to poor abby whose stuff had just gotten snatched up and thrown on the stroller like the sky was falling.

about 7 airline staffers and 2 paramedics and 1 fire and rescue person flew to our aid. i gave our name and info to all but one of them i think. then the paramedic said that i was advised to go to the hospital. i knew i wanted something for her pain before getting on planes to travel another 7 or 8 hours. i thought i would shortly lose my mind. an airline guy got on the phone and held seats for us for a later flight and the 2 paramedics proceeded to get a “cart” for us through the airport and out the front door to an ambulance. the nearest hospital was going to be a super long wait so we went to a further one that they hardly ever deal with and don’t know well. the driver just helped us onto the ambulance and threw the overloaded stroller onto the the gurney upside down. lilly fell asleep in my arms and was practically passed out. i guess the drama of crying for the last 45 minutes had her worn out. we were able to look at the tooth better as she slept and could see that it was definitely messed up.

when the guy opened the ambulance door and grabbed the stroller with all our junk about 10 crayons and 3 stuffed animals splattered onto the ground. abby picked them up and we headed in. thankfully they got us straight back to a room. the ER doctor saw us and looked at her tooth. he said we’d need to see a dentist ASAP but to give her motrin in the meantime. he thought i might need to be pulled or it could heal on its own but he wasn’t able to do any of that. they doped her up  and gave us a dose for 6 hours later. the nurse went to get our discharge papers and came back about AN HOUR later. meanwhile, i talked to mike some more, listened to lilly cry some more and watched abby bounce all over the room. her nerves were shot too. when the nurse came back she took us to a hospital discharge office. the stroller and all the stuff wouldn’t fit so it was jammed in the doorway holding the door open. abby really started showing out at this point. she was hollering for a chair. lilly was trying to stand up in the stroller and i was yelling info at the poor lady so that she could hear what i was saying. and i have a really bad cough so i was barking in between answers about insurance.

i asked for help getting a cab back to the airport and she sent me to the greeter by the front door. i called for a cab, politely answered questions from the greeter about life in alaska and plopped down in a chair. abby talked to mike on the cell phone while walking on and off the sensor for the front door repeatedly. i wanted to lock myself in the bathroom and have a good long cry. but i had to wait. the cab drove up and thankfully was a really big guy who was also sweating profusely so the window was down and i could finally breathe.

we got back to the airport. did the security routine again, everyone’s shoes off, dvd player out of the bag, fold up the stroller and send it through and all. we made it to wendy’s to get a much needed frosty for the girls and down to the gate. the gate was jam packed. the flight was going to be so too. i parked the stroller in the middle of the walkway and knelt down to feed the frosty to lilly. but she didn’t want me to feed it to her. so she plowed in with a spoon on her own. a nearby lady insisted on talking to my kids from 10 feet away in her calm little seat. she was going, “little girl, little girl!” trying to get abby’s attention. i was thinking, “please don’t make small talk with me. this is not the time. i just want to get on the plane and in the air toward home.” she came over and put her hand on me and was trying to give abby her popcorn. the girls were fighting over the frosty and glopped a huge mess all over the floor. it was insane and the lady was still talking to us while i drug the girls to the bathroom just to get away.

when it was time to board i was ecstatic, we would be on a connecting flight that would stop over in seattle but we wouldn’t have to get off the plane… yippeeeee! this was it! so we got on the plane and headed out. my cough was worse and i was barking like about 3 times every five minutes. i’m sure everyone around us was glad to hear that. otherwise it was an uneventful 4 hours crammed into a 4 cubic feet space with 2 preschoolers, one of whom was a lap child. UGHHH!!!!!

we arrived in seattle and everyone who had to get off the plane got off. the girls were fussy but i managed to get all our stuff reorganized and let them stand up in the seats for a few mintues. about that time, a flight attendant came down the aisle checking people’s name and seats off a little list. as fate would have it, we weren’t on the list. she said, “you’re going to have to deboard and check in again at the gate!” with a big smile on her face. i thought, “you are kidding me. i didn’t think my day could get any worse but it just did.” so i drag the 25 pound kid, the 30 pound backpack, 2 blankets and pillows up the aisle and out of the plane. abby fussed all the way up the hall.  the door was locked but there was a button to push so i pushed it and it unlocked. when i reached up and opened the door this man was standing there and hissed at me, “what are you doing? this is a security breach!” i told him i was asked to deboard and he said, “then come in, why are you just standing there?” i really thought about sitting in that doorway and throwing my own fit. i was so exhausted. we’d been gone from AR for about 18 hours and i couldn’t take any more. i went to the counter, had my ticket scanned and got in line to get back on the plane. we boarded and got to new seats even further back. YAY!

i wasn’t the only one exhausted. abby started  making really loud grunting noises. i can’t even describe it but i was getting some really weird looks. she wasn’t talking in complete sentences anymore but had reverted back to pre toddler gibberish. a man came and sat down next to us and pulled out a bag from wendy’s. lilly saw his fries and started crying out, “ENCH EYES, ENCH EYES, PEEZ MOMMY, ENCH EYES!” and reaching out for him. when he got down to the last 8 or so fries he noticed her and said, “Here, give that baby these potatoes.” then a fight ensued over the fries. abby wanted them. lilly wanted them. both were tired and hungry and i had been advised to give lilly only soft mushy foods for the next couple of weeks. yeah, right! how do you explain that to a 2 year old…she would try to eat them, point to her hurt tooth and whimper. i convinced abby to quit grunting and get out a pillow and she fell asleep. lilly continued to fuss, wiggle her way down to the floor and force me to drag her out. it was nuts, really nuts.

needless to say, i have never been so happy to arrive home. we got all the bags, 2 carseats and headed out to the car. only it wouldn’t all fit. after lots of rearranging we made it home with the stoller between the kids, a bag at abby’s feet and one in my lap. fun. i was still coughing. lilly fell asleep and slept peacefully while mike brought her inside and put her in bed. she woke the next morning at 8 am like we’d never been gone. abby and i also passed out. next thing i knew, i was waking up at about 11 when mike had just gotten lunch ready. he had made her an appointment for wednesday morning at a pediatric dentist in anchorage and we spent the day at home, thankfully! i drank cough syrup like it was going out of style and happily let mike change all the dirty diapers, fix all snacks and meals, and do all the parenting for the day. he’d even bathed the kids before lunch. who could ask for more?