By Amy Ingram
I recently had a friend tell me that my life could easily be a sitcom and they would be first in line to watch. I think if we stop to think about it, at some point, we could all be on sitcoms. It seems when we are delivered from crisis there is always something to look back and laugh about. I’m bringing y’all along on my most recent moment of terror, which has turned out to be extremely entertaining now.
This past weekend my mom, sister-in-law (Maggie), and I ventured off to New York City for a long girl’s weekend. Mom and I flew from Birmingham on a direct flight and Maggie flew out of Jackson.
My mom and I left the house at 5 a.m. for our 7 a.m. flight. I could tell my mom was super tired and she seemed a little “off” but I just chalked it up to being up so early. She ate a little bite of breakfast and drank a tea from Starbucks and we loaded on the plane. About an hour into the flight I asked her if I could get up to go to the bathroom and when I came back she had moved over to the window seat and was asleep.
About 15 minutes passed after I returned to my seat and we hit some rough air. The airplane was warmer than usual, and my mom woke up and said, “I think I’m going to be airsick.” She reached for the airsickness bag and when she went to vomit it was full from someone else’s vomit (GAG!). At this point, she handed the bag to me and I thought she wanted me to help her get it open, so I stuck my hand down in it to open it—yeah, NASTY. Meanwhile, as I was trying to find another bag for her to use, I stopped to check on her and she had passed out.
I stood up in true form and yelled “I NEED HELP, OH MY GOSH, I NEED HELP.” Of course this brought great alarm to the staff and people on the plane, as they thought I had LOST MY MIND. I finally realized after noticing the man near me clinching his seat, white knuckled, that I had to be a little clearer, so I noted I needed a doctor or a nurse for my mom.
As the nurse came to care for my mom, I took off running to the bathroom (with the vomit bag in hand, and vomit ON MY HAND) yelling “sweet Jesus, sweet Jesus, sweet Jesus.” I washed my hands quickly and came back to my mom and they had slapped her into consciousness. She looked at me and said, “Did someone slap me really hard?” Um, yes. Lots of times. I sensed from the nurse that she was really concerned about my mom and they were doing their best to get the plane on the ground and get my mom some help as quickly as possible. (We landed 45 minutes early). The oxygen was on, but my mom was pale as a ghost.
The nurse told me to not let my mom go back to sleep, so I asked questions all the way down to the ground—and all my mom wanted was a little shut-eye. I rested my head on the seat at one point and wept. I honestly thought when they couldn’t get her awake at first she was dying and it was the scariest/saddest moment of my life.
We were greeted on the ground by seven of NYFD/NYPD’s finest and they took such good care of us. Mom was wheeled off to the ambulance and NYPD (three officers) escorted me through special doors to get our luggage. I made the call to take my mom to the Emergency Room in Queens—the fourth busiest ER in America—and I’ve never in my life experienced anything like it. I can’t write about it due to privacy violations, but if you ever ask me I’ll give you some good laughs. (Note: My mom received great care at this hospital and they moved quickly so we could get out and enjoy the city.)
Turns out my mom was super dehydrated—and being airsick plus dehydration plus lack of sleep made her have a reaction that caused her to pass out. Cold.
There are two very important things to note in the midst of all of this and what God was doing:
- Prior to leaving on our trip, I had an intense prompting from the Holy Spirit to pray specifically for my mom’s health as we traveled and on this trip. Even the morning we left, I woke up offering her health back to Jesus. I know this is a prayer God had laid before me to offer back to Him, and was one of the reasons why she was okay after this episode. If you are prompted to pray for specific things, do it. Do not hesitate.
- Due to my journey as a single woman, I have learned great independence as I travel. It was this independence that kept my mom (and dad) calm during this time of uncertainty as we were taken to an area of the city we knew nothing about. It also kept my father from making a rash decision and hiring a private jet to get him to NYC stat.
I encourage you to take a look around you and find the good things you are learning in your season of singleness. There is good in this time. I promise.
Be loved, beloved, for you are most definitely loved.
