So we are finally here at Launch. We've spent the last six months preparing for this time. We've spent countless hours praying, fundraising, sending out support letters, talking to family, friends and churches, shopping for gear, testing out our gear, returning our gear (several times), have been prayed over multiple times, and have shed more than enough tears as we said goodbyes. Now, the time has come. We are embarking on this journey that will literally take us around the world. We will see things, experience things, be tested through things, and all the while the only explanation will be: God.
We've been told not to have any expectations, but to simply expect. Expect God to mold us, change us, transform us, but only if we're willing to be transformed. Well, I didn't quite expect our World Race journey to begin the way it did. And I was more than a little hesitant to be transformed through this experience. Wednesday morning we awoke very early (4 a.m.), after having very little sleep, and gathered up all of our gear for the Race. We loaded up, drove to the air port, said our goodbyes to my in-laws (I've never seen my father-in-law cry until that moment, and I don't think Kari's ever seen him cry either), made it through security, found some seats in the terminal, ate breakfast and waited to depart. Everything seemed fine. Nothing out of the ordinary, but then we finally boarded the plane.
I was hoping and expecting a fairly straightforward flight. We were to have about an hour layover in Chicago before heading to Atlanta, but of course nothing ever goes according to plan. We took off out of Oklahoma City, and it wasn't long before Kari started stating that she was having trouble breathing, that she was lightheaded, was shaking, and felt like she was going to pass out. Needless to say, I was very concerned. She kept going back and forth between being hot and cold, we tried to see if having the air on her would help, but it didn't, and so finally I asked her if I needed to call a flight attendant. She hesitated at first, thinking that she would just reach up and adjust the air, but almost immediately after decided that she needed to call a flight attendant.
When someone came Kari explained how she was feeling, she was given some water, wet paper towels, and a bag of ice, but nothing seemed to help. After a while the attendant got on the intercom and asked for a nurse/doctor/anyone with a medical background to report to the back to help us. Finally, a lady named Donna came and sat with Kari the rest of the flight and coached her. They got up, walked the plane together, got some juice, and she just sat and visited with us. Donna could have easily just assisted where she could and gone back to her comfortable chair in the front of the plane, but instead she sat in the isle and talked to Kari for the rest of the flight. (Donna seemed to think Kari was having an anxiety attack.)
When we finally landed in Chicago the flight attendant informed us that medics were on the ground waiting to assist us off the plane. We thought, "Oh how nice, they're going to make sure Kari's all right and we'll be on our way." Not so much. We landed, everyone was instructed to remain seated as medics were making their way onto the plane, and we looked out the window to see an ambulance and a fire truck waiting for us, right on the landing. Poor Kari, she felt really embarrassed.
The medics then came on board, escorted us off the plane, sat Kari down in the terminal, checked her vitals, and told us that just to be safe, they were taking her to the hospital. Wow, could this day get any worse? As a matter of fact, it did. We were then taken out of the emergency exit (Kari on this upright stretcher thingy), out to the ambulance, Kari was hooked up to an IV, and we rode in the ambulance to the hospital. We then spent the next 6 hours in the hospital, various tests being done to Kari, and I felt completely helpless. There was absolutely nothing I could do for her but wait and be there, and it was absolutely killing me.
After some blood work, tests and a CT scan, and 6 hours of waiting, we were finally released. Nothing came back positive. Everything turned out to be normal. There was one incident where a test came back with blood clots being a potential risk, but after further tests we were told that there was nothing to worry about. The doctors informed us there was nothing they could find that would raise alarm, and so we were free to go and Kari was cleared to fly.
Well, needless to say that after being in the hospital for 6 hours we missed our connecting flight at 10:30 a.m. for Atlanta. So, Southwest was kind enough to give us a number to call and they pulled some strings to get us rebooked on a later flight. (This was actually a huge blessing as the rebooked flight was scheduled to leave at 3:50 p.m., but because of weather it was pushed back to 5:40.) We made it to the airport, got through security, waited for the flight, and were able to make it to Atlanta without any other complications. Although Kari still did not feel normal, she was able to make it through. We finally arrived at the hotel in Atlanta around 10 p.m. and were greeted with smiles and hugs by several of our team and squad mates. I wanted to cry. I felt so loved for by these amazing people.
But wait, there's more. Our night had to end with one more piece of drama. We tried to check into our room but found out that the desk had us down to check in on Thursday and not on Wednesday! Are you kidding?! I felt so bad for the receptionist because I know I wasn't very pleasant to deal with in that situation. We had been up since 4 a.m., missed our connecting flight, spent 6 hours in the hospital, and we were exhausted, and now we didn't have a room. But, thankfully the wonderful staff of Adventures was able to get us checked into a room and we were finally able to call it a night.
So that was our very long start to Launch. It was absolutely insane. So many things ran through my mind that day: Are we seriously not going to be able to go on the World Race at this point? What about all of the support we've raised and the people who have blessed us? What if something terrible was happening to my wife? What could I do? I felt so incredibly helpless. If this is how much we were going to be tested just trying to get to the World Race, I wasn't sure I was ready for the real deal. But here we are. We've made it, and these last few days have been exhausting, but so exciting. I'm ready to begin this journey. I'm so thankful and blessed that Kari is all right. I don't even want to think about how much more of a mess I would have been had Kari not been ok. But God has taken care of us. My wife, my love is fine. We are able to go on this amazing adventure together with these amazing people. Our team and squad have showered us with love and prayers all the while we were in the hospital and haven't stopped. Now let this part of the journey begin. It's time. It's the World Race.
We cannot thank you all enough for all of your love, support and prayers. Thank you to our parents, team and squad for praying for us through this whole ordeal. It's been a scary ride, but God is faithful. Thank you to everyone for all of your support getting us this far. We launch out on Sunday and we are ecstatic. To date we have raised over $24,000!!! God is good! He has never once let us down. I love what Bill, one of our leaders, said yesterday: "We are not going out to serve to earn God's approval, but are sent out by the approval of God to serve and be a blessing." Thank you to everyone for being a blessing to us. We love you all very much.
