I glance down at my feet to find I'm wearing my only pair of shoes. Chacos. I have shorts on, and I packed light. I brought nothing that could last in this landscape. A 55+ degree sleeping bag, a swim suit, and a hammock ... I'd be dead in less than 24. The thought of bum rushing a flight attendant and tearing through the cabin door crosses my mind. My sweaty hand grasps the cold metal buckle provoking my body to listen to my heart. But I stop, suppressing a primal urge to make a run for it ... This is not my stop. A foreign place on another continent is calling. A distant 13 hours and another stop away. I relax back into my seat, a smile grows on my face and I know I'll be back to these wilds soon. For now this American wilderness will have to wait. My journey is continuing to the land of the orient, where Bengal tigers roam and elephants graze; filled with islands, tropical beaches, and thick jungle. A place where Buddha is worshiped and monkeys swing. I'm headed west ... to Thailand.
Refueled, the engines fire up, the captain apologizes for the delay and as fast as the Brooks range rose from the earth ... like a dream it was gone.
This scenic detour wasn't in our original flight plan. While over the Canadian wilderness a drama unfolded causing us to drop fuel over northern Canada and preform this emergency landing in Anchorage.
The scene opens up like this:
Andrew and I were woken up somewhere over the northern Canadian tundra by a 31 year old woman who had passed out in the isle right next to us. The flight attendants rushed to help her, they got her to her feet only to see her eyes go white and shut. ... out cold. What unraveled beside us felt like a scene from ER or Grey's Anatomy. We had been cast as extras and told to "just stay calm."
Scene II:
The PA system loudly asked, "We need a doctor in the back of the plane! Is their anyone on board who is a doctor?" This queued the EMT nurse, who looked like your average soccer mom. While she assessed the situation a short and stocky flight attendant came up urgently with a green cylinder of compressed oxygen. Beads of sweat dripped down his face showing his audience that he had no clue how to handle the situation, unprepared, he did what he could to help. The nurse checked the patient's pulse ... she was fading fast.
Scene III:
The PA system sounded again: "We need a doctor! ... anyone with medical experience PLEASE!" The hero stepped into the shot, a taller than average oriental man who looked the part, exuding confidence he spoke in clear English, "I'm a cardiologist." Perfect! Patiently he asked a flight attendant to bring him the first aid equipment. Scooting the EMT nurse to the side the doctor checked the patient's pulse at the wrist. He began to ask the patient questions, she gave a slurred answer and before she could finnish he popped her on the cheek to wake her up. Her eyes opened as she tried to regain consciousness ... she slipped back into her hazy state again.
By this time the stressed out flight attendant gave the doctor a white box reading, "First Aid," he opened it up and let out a big sigh of disappointment. "These are just bandages!! Where is the First Aid gear? Lets get it over here now! I need pills, I need an I.V.!"
Scene IV:
My front row seat was taken from me, we had to get up to make room for the next scene ... I never saw cameras but I know they had to be there somewhere, you know how these reality TV shows are today, everything is as real as possible, so I happily moved.
The I.V. was issued and she recovered her blood pressure, it was good to see her acting her old self again, its tough to see anyone in that state.
I moved and stood at the back of the plane my eyes fixed out the window as we approached the Alaskan mountains. I glued my face to the plastic pane searching for Denali, from 30,000 ft. they all looked like Everest.
As I was looking at the grandeur, the captain announced that we would be making an emergency landing in Anchorage, to get our main character to the hospital. Suddenly the fuel, like ribbons tied to the wings, spilled out in dramatic fashion ... I was going to Alaska!
end scene.
