Our Journey Home

Feel free to skip over this story, but I want to record it, for posterity sake. It's all part of Avery's journey home. And what a journey it was.

Our Friday Aug 2 at 5 p.m. the four of us left GZ in a mini van on our way to Hong Kong. Due to the rain and traffic and customs we arrived at the hotel (without dinner) at 9 p.m. Crossing the border into Hong Kong requires going through customs, checking that the passengers match their passports. We also had to give notice of our departure from China  and our arrival to Hong Kong.

We spent one night in Hong Kong and thoroughly enjoyed a small taste of home with blueberries, pineapple and strawberries at the buffet breakfast (a first in 17 days).

We headed to the airport at 7:40 a.m. to catch our 10:32 a.m. flight. Met up with the Waldman family b/c they too were headed to Newark. We boarded the plane and sat for an hour without much explanation. Finally we took off, boy were we excited. 

About 3 hours into the flight an announcement was made requesting any doctors on board to come to the back of the plane for a medical emergency. Our friend Brent Waldman is an Airforce Dentist offered his assistance. An OBGYN and a med student also stepped in all were involved in the efforts of saving a young woman's life. Most of the passengers had no idea what was going on. About 30 minutes north of Beijing (3.5 hrs into our flight) we were told we would be circling back (30 mins) to make an emergency landing in Beijing. The Chinese emergency crew was on board as soon as we landed. We sat and sat and sat. We got updates about every hour for FOUR HOURS! It was nutty. Everyone remained so calm. I still can't believe it. The flight crew was clearly devastated as the young woman was actually a flight attendant on duty and we weren't even sure the woman was still alive. The medical team took her off the back of the plane. We sat and sat as the Chinese gov, airport officials and flight crew worked out a plan.

Meanwhile we are on an airplane with a toddler for 8 hours and making no real progress home. Not to mention the fact that I was changing a dirty diaper almost every hour and could have been more often if I hadn't been worrying about running out. Nightmare!

No one could leave the plane b/c no one had visa's back into China. The airline requested emergancy 1 day visas and it was denied. So, then, the airline was hoping to get us to the states before the crew "timed out." The plane had to be refueled and the medical equipment used during the emergency had to be restocked. The decision to fly back to Hong Kong was devastating, but after 4 hours of just sitting we were relieved to be doing something. No one was told what would happen after we landed.

We landed back in Hong Kong 12 hours after our original departure. Then we sat and waited for stairs and buses to be brought out to the tarmac. While we waited, the pilot informed us that a new flight on the following day (Sunday at 2 pm) would be arranged and all passengers would have their same seats on the plane. Our connecting flights would be arranged overnight while we slept and given to us at check-in the next day. This was a HUGE relief b/c we were totally panicked that all 300+ passengers would be fighting for spaces on other flights.

Once in the airport we stood in line for our hotel arrangements. Then we stood in line to get through immigration. Then we waited for a bus to take us on our 24 mile drive to the hotel (without our luggage) and only to wait in another line to check-in at the hotel. Isn't this insane?!?!

We finally collapsed into bed at 2:45 AM with a toddler who barely ate dinner and a 9 yr old who didn't. They were incredible. God gave us all such patience. I was almost unable to carry Avery by the time we got to the hotel, I was so tired.

At 10 AM we boarded a bus for the airport to start our day all over again. Keep in mind we were still with the Waldmans, a total God send. God gave us the strength to be on the look out for all the positives in this new day. Wow! We were able to buy diapers and wipes at the airport, essentially for another 17 hrs of flying.

At 2:30 we boarded the very same plane with the slightly less passengers. We were late leaving but it didn't matter b/c we were leaving!!

Avery did incredible. Her stomach was better and we had a reprieve from so many trips to the changing table. We had bulkhead seats and a bassinet that hung off the bulkhead right in front of us. Owen sat behind us on his own or up a few rows with his buddy Beck.

Avery took a short nap in the bassinet after take-off and then later at 9:30 p.m. (with the help a tiny dose of benedryl) she slept for 8 straight hours!!! She is good at sleeping on her back with lots of noise, one advantage to her orphanage upbringing. It was a LONG 15 hours, but so much easier with her asleep. We were so thankful and everyone around us was relieved too :)

Owen and Beck and Everlee were great travelers too. Such a blessing!

The difference in Avery from her first plane ride to a week later is astonishing. She leaned into my lap, rested her head on my chest, babbled up a storm, pulled herself up to a standing position (over and over again) on my legs. She knows us and her trust of us is growing each day. It's awesome to watch.
We arrived in Newark late. Thankfully we had 3 hours before boarding our next 1 hr flight. Even with that amount of time we barely made it. Avery became an American citizen upon arrival of Newark's customs and immigration. We basically just handed over passports and paperwork. No photos allowed :(
Our next flight was short and sweet and our excitement and anticipation of seeing family and friends was building. Owen could barely stand it. We got off the plane at 10:30 P.M. almost 24 hrs after arriving at the Hong Kong airport (for the second time). It's SO, SO, good to be home. We have enjoyed so many firsts. Our bed, ice and cold beverages, salad, fresh fruit, washing machine, dishwasher, brushing our teeth with tap water, seeing the SUN (for real) and STARS.

 We were not the only ones excited for our return. Oh, how it killed me to delay our reunion.