LESSONS I LEARNED PART 2

by Teresa Moyer

MY RETURN TRIP HOME

The assist service at the Charlotte airport was top notch. I was able to get a wheelchair outside before entering the airport. He asked to see my boarding pass and took me to security. I lit up again. By then, I wondered what in the world was in my midsection that would indicate metal. So, I was frisked again. Then he took me to my terminal gate with a nice long relaxing wait. The flight to DFW went smooth and uneventful.

I’m met at the plane with a wheelchair, wheeled up the ramp that connects the plane to the terminal. The guy pushing me mumbles something softly as he parked the wheelchair at the check-in counter. Then he left me to go back to the plane.

I sit there confused because with my existing hearing issue and my plugged ears from the flight, I am pretty much deaf in that moment. After a couple of minutes, I go to the guy at the counter and ask where my wheelchair assistant went. The gate attendant said, “we called for a cart, and it has not arrived yet.”

“Okay, a cart. What is a cart?” I asked.

He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he asked to see my boarding pass. I show it to him, and he told me to hold on he’s going to call for another cart. “Your flight had a terminal and gate change.” That’s when he informed me, I might miss my connecting flight. You see, I landed in terminal A and my connecting flight was in terminal D. I had no idea how far apart these two terminals were.

Spoiler alert…It was a really long distance apart. Far apart!

The cart arrives and I get on with my suitcase. Off we go! We drive and drive and drive for at least ten minutes. We reached the elevators, he gets off, undoes my seatbelt and takes my bag off. I said, “what are you doing?” He replied, “taking the elevator to the next floor.”

We get off the elevator and he points us three gals (two more have joined us), to a set of seats and tells us to wait on the next cart. He gets back on the elevator and is gone.

I say a silent prayer to God to slow down time as this was not looking promising. I underestimated the size of DFW and it felt like it was the size of my hometown, Albany, Oregon with a population of 54,000.

Us three ladies chat a bit. I look at my time and boarding begins in ten minutes. Two carts arrived and two of us get on one and one lady gets on the other. Off we go! He drops the other lady off at her gate and then it is just me to continue for another ten-minute ride. (God had to have slowed down time, because doing the math does not add up.)

He announced we have arrived, and I got off and got my bag. And I am second to last to board as boarding is closing to PDX! Only God got me to my connecting flight on time because the cart ride alone totaled 20 minutes and that’s not counting the ten minutes we waited for the carts to arrive. By worldly standards I should have missed my flight, BUT GOD!

My flight to PDX was smooth and relaxing and I was met by a young man with a wheelchair when I arrived in Portland. He pushed me to the waiting area for the Groom Airport shuttle – I had a two hour wait for my shuttle back to Albany.

I kind of liked the long relaxing wait. I people watched and completed several wordsearch puzzles. I enjoyed the ride back to Albany and was glad I was home. Many firsts in this adventure from West to East coast and back. I was so happy that I went, though, and learned many first-time flyer lessons.

Here are some of the lessons I learned on that trip in February 2022. And there were many. Be careful of how a request for help is worded to avoid any misunderstandings. Be better prepared from start to finish. Give up control and let God manage the trip. But most of all, be brave enough to do something far out of your comfort zone.

God has you! Let Him guide your steps and thank Him for every little miracle you experience. You see, I had just lost 200 pounds. I was three-month post op from a right knee replacement. And I am an introvert with Aspergers. I was so far out of my comfort zone – no way I could have made that trip without God. I kept my eyes on Jesus!

“Would I do it again?” you ask. “Yup!”

Bio: Teresa lives in Oregon where she attended Salem Bible College earning an associate degree in religion and then attended Eugene Bible College earning her BS in Christian counseling. She worked in the healthcare field for 35 years. Teresa received Gastric Bypass surgery in 2020 and has lost over 200 pounds. She then received a much-needed knee replacement. She is currently writing her memoir through Redemption Press. Besides writing, Teresa loves to read, draw and paint.