68 year old Ken and his wife Lois were in North Dakota to visiting family when Ken became ill. He was hospitalized and eventually had a tracheostomy placed and now relies on a ventilator to breath for him. Lois just wants to get him closer to home now.
Our morning started out with an overcast sky and some light rain. There also seems to be a bit of confusion as to where exactly we are going this morning, at least by 1 crew member.
This in itself is quite a comical story and one we can share later. I can assure you, that we did however get everything in order before we took off. Once above the clouds we enjoy the bright sunshine as we fly to Fargo (or is it Sioux Falls? …Hmmm !!… Po-tato, Pa-tato)? Oh !….right…. as I said earlier we did get that all straightened out.
At last we are on our way to meet Ken and Lois. We arrive at his bedside to find him surrounded by family who are very relieved to finally see us. We continue to get him ready and moved over as several staff enter to say good-bye to Lois. Her family hugs her and kisses Ken on the forehead as we start down the hallway.
We return back to the airport and Hal prays for Ken and Lois before we board Nellie. Lois says Ken loves to fly and she hopes this will help his anxiety.
He seemed to do well during his flight and we did all we could to keep him comfortable. We enjoyed our visit with Lois as she shared a little about their life together.
Ken and Lois met at a softball tournament several years ago in Minneapolis. They are both originally from that area. After dating for a few years they were married now going on 42 years. Lois worked for the airlines. Ken has his private pilot license and recently retired as an attorney. They raised 2 sons, 1 who lives close to them and the other who is an actor in California.
They also have 3 grandchildren. The 2 of them enjoy traveling and have been to several places in the world. They just recently downsized and built a new home which they have not yet moved into. Lois is both excited and nervous about the move not knowing what Ken’s future will be. There little dog has been apart from them as well and she is looking forward to seeing him.
We arrive in Memphis and transfer Ken into the ambulance as we place Lois up front with the driver. Once at the hospital the ICU team assists us in placing Ken into bed as they ask Lois to please wait in the waiting area. She is quite nervous and does not want to leave Ken alone.
I asked the staff to allow her to stay so that we could pray for her and Ken. With one arm around Lois and my hand on Ken I thanked God for travel safety and asked Him to bless the staff that will now care for this family. As I ended our prayer I opened my eyes to see that all of the staff had also bowed their heads and joined us. I think this gave Lois some relief. We hugged her as we left the room.
PSALM 139:14 I
PRAISE YOU BECAUSE I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE: YOUR WORKS ARE WONDERFUL, I KNOW THAT FULL WELL.
Thank you to Hal, Gina and Kimber for sharing this mission with me.
Many blessings
