the trip home

We were able to get on a flight the next morning. Getting through customs and on to our plane was no problem. The flight took us back to Heathrow airport in London. There were no issuses, and she seemed to be doing fine. I decided it was time to call home and let the family know what was going on. My mother in law answered the phone, and of course wanted to know what was wrong. I wasn't sure how to saw it, that her oldest daughter was returning home to face brain tumor treatments, whatever that was going to be. I had already called our family doctor, who walked me through what to watch out for, and agreed to see Marie the moment we landed in Omaha.

Mom was babysitting our daughter, so whatever I was going to say needed to come across calmly and with confidence. I didn't want my daughter to get upset while we were still out of the country. I told my mother in law that Marie had a siezure in Egypt and the doctors discovered a brain tumor. That was not the right thing to say. Mom lost it and began crying. I immediately told her to stay strong and try to keep it together. We agreed that I would call her when we landed in Chicago.

I alerted the personal, at the check in gate, about the situation, in case we had trouble on the plane. They let me know that the pilot would be in touch with a medical team in the States, in case we had a problem in the air. I thought that was great, and it made me feel that would could actally make the trip. Being in London, I debated on whether we should stay and seek treatment there. I was glad, though, that the airline was so helpful, and was able to get us home.

The first problem we had, occurred when we went to board the plane in London. The ramp, onto the plane, is at a small decline. When Marire was attempting to walk down that ramp, the tumor was blocking the flow of spinal fluid. She started the tiptoe stride again. As she went down the ramp, she began to go faster so she didn't lose her balance. Faster and faster until she was almose running. She couldn't stop until she reached the end of the ramp, and crashed into the side of the plane. The airlne stewardess helpped her get on board. That was the last time I let her walk. We used a wheel chair from then on, until she was safely in the hospital.

Marie slept the entire flight, which lasted about 8 hours. We had someone wheel her through customs and to the connecting gate. While she was going from customs to the gate, she began to lose all sense of where we were, and what was going on. Instead of seeing the airport around her, she began to see the neighborhood she grew up in 35-40years earlier. She was totally hallucinating. Since it was already late at night, and I wasn't sure sure could make the last flight home, I decided to spend the night in Chicago. We stayed at a hotel connected to the airport. I thought if she slept, she may have the strength to continue the trip home. It worked and we found ourselves in Omaha, mid-morning, the next day.