lessons learned

I am writing now from India! We made it here safely, and somehow I managed to function throughout the whole trip! I think it was divine intervention that kept me pushing forward for 20+ hours on a plane, about 45 traveling hours and 6 airports to get me from Utah to Rising Star.
My first international flight went from JFK to Abu Dhabi. I didn't quite know what to expect and felt a little uneasy about flying Etihad Air. It sounded so... foreign! I found the plane was VERY classy and comfortable. We had a plush blanket, pillow, and a little kit with earplugs, socks, eye mask, a tooth brush and toothpaste. The lights of the plane when dimming would turn from red to blue to green. The flight attendants wore a hat with a sheer scarf draped under their chin and bright red lip stick!
Despite all the comfort of the plane I still only slept for 3 hours max! I'm not a very good public sleeper!
I made some new friends on our next flight. Me and my sister were sitting on the very last row at the back of the plane. An older man and his son came to sit in front of us. The flight attendant was telling them they had too many carry-ons and needed to move some luggage to the front. They didn't understand anything she was saying, obviously they didn't speak English. The son pointed to his mouth, then to his heart, then to his father...we need to keep my father's heart medicine. Finally after some frustration and shuffling things around they were able to keep their bags by them.
Later, the flight attendants handed out customs forms to be filled out. The father in front of me, through the space in the seats, turned to communicate..We don't know how to fill this out.. He handed me the paper and passport and I did my best to fill in the blanks, motioning different questions..where are you going in India? Where will you sleep (putting my hands to my cheek). The son said, "Ohh" and handed back a paper with an address to a hospital. They were from Bangladesh Iraq, traveling to India to see a heart specialist. In my mind I thought, "Yikes. This man is high risk for a heart attack."
After about an hour of hand motions and talking between seats I had their forms completed. The father handed me an apple through the seats to say thank you. I took a picture of it because I was so touched.
Sadly, an hour after that, the father did have a heart attack! The son yelled at his dad trying to get a response, the attendant said, "We need to get him out of the seat!!" Three men were able to lift him and take him four feet to the open space at the back of the plane. I am a nurse, but rather than rush to the crowded space and assist, I had the sense to observe the attendants as they as they worked and step in only if needed. (I feel kind of guilty about this but I think it was the right choice) One checked the ABC's, (airway, breathing, circulation) his heart wasn't beating. Another was cutting his shirt off. Another was getting out the AED, "Shock" device. Meanwhile, an attendant called out, "Is there a doctor on the plane?" Remarkably a cardiologist stood up! They shocked him a few times and his heart started beating regularly. He was coming back around! I tried to express comfort to the son as I watched him go through emotions of fear, sadness, frustration....
The plane was going to make an emergency landing in Bangalore. Soon the paramedics were carrying the father out of the plane. The son was upset about something, (standing by the exit where I couldn't see him). The attendant assumed he wanted her to go with them. This didn't make sense to me. As she was explaining she couldn't go with him (for the second or third time) I thought, "He wants his luggage and the medicine!!" I quickly started handing her their carry-on bags, and when the son got them the arguing stopped.
We took off an hour later after refueling. As I watched the sunset out my window I thought about how fragile life is, how the things can change at any moment no matter what you're doing. That you can't know what will happen in life, so why not live it to the fullest! I thought about how I had helped these men, and was glad for the opportunity I had to do it, wishing I could have done more. I still have my apple. I can't bring myself to eat it or throw it away. I just like to look at it and remember my special friends from Iraq and the lessons learned from them. (Picture coming as soon as I can get it off my phone!)
Oh, and to top it off, we lost our luggage!