A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Orlando...

We'd arrived too late to pre-board our flight to Orlando, so now, boarding last, we had to "do our thing" with over 200 pairs of eyes watching with curiosity. Our nurses scurried about, quickly breaking down Charlie's wheelchair to go underneath the plane and getting all the different pieces of his equipment quickly put away on board (that's always fun when you have tons of carry-ons, and no space in the overhead compartments). Flight crews usually stand back in wonder as we transfer Charlie from his wheelchair, to an aisle chair, to his plane seat - with Indy 500 pit crew precision. Two of the three nurses with us had never traveled with us before. In spite of the pressure to h-u-r-r-y, the "rookies" did well - didn't bang Charlie's head, or drop him in the aisle, which is good because our large audience was still looking on in amazement. Hoses were connected and equipment was turned on as final adjustments were made for Charlie.

It wasn't long after the plane rose into the sky when Dodi, the nurse sitting with Charlie and Lucy, made her way back to our aisle. Something wasn't working right and she needed someone to manually give Charlie air or "bag" him while she unhooked his breathing tube and checked the connections. The second time she came back, she said, "You might want to start praying...".

The machine that breathes for Charlie wasn't working. Carri called ahead to Dallas Airport (Praise the Lord for phones on planes!) and arranged for our backup ventilator to be brought up from baggage in Dallas. She also called our office in CA to have them, 1) locate a ventilator company in Orlando, alert them to our situation, and have them ready to meet us with a new ventilator, and 2) page Kale, our number one trouble shooter, who hadn't made the trip with us because of school.

For the rest of the flight we had to manually give Charlie air with an ambu-bag that attaches at the base of his throat. Every few seconds we squeeze the bag, pushing air into his lungs. The bag has to be held at just the right angle. You know how you hold your arms up when you blow dry your hair? Imagine holding them like that for 1 and 1/2 or 2 hours....

Special Services met us at the plane door with our other ventilator. We quickly transferred Charlie to the aisle chair, and then to his wheelchair on which we’d hooked up the new ventilator, only to find that this one wasn't working either!

Then the suction machine quit working. The situation immediately became more critical. Unlike you and I, Charlie cannot swallow, so his saliva must be suctioned out of his mouth. At the base of his throat is a tube called a trach, which also must be periodically suctioned to clear his lungs. Soon, Charlie was coughing and choking, with saliva dribbling out of his mouth. It was awful.

Michael, with Special Services, rushed our entourage back to the Special Services office, where the employees were incredibly helpful. While Dodi & nurse Yvette literally plugged Charlie into the wall, attending to him while continuing to check cords, connectors, and fuses - Lucy & nurse Patti ran to bring all of Charlie's medical luggage up from baggage. Carri finally reached Kale at home so he and Dodi could trouble shoot over the phone. Nothing was working. You could literally feel the panic set in. Carri remembers Kale saying, "It just sounds like everything is broken..." We finally called 9-1-1.

Why does he do it? Why does Charlie travel across the country, or out of the country, often putting himself in crazy, frustrating, and vulnerable situations - just to share his message with others? Traveling is stressful and extremely exhausting. Just getting him out of bed can be an ordeal. Why does Charlie go to the trouble and make the effort? Something could go wrong at anytime.

Although he can no longer speak, Charlie has something to say. He and Lucy are compelled to make the effort to share their story. It is a message of hope and encouragement. It is a story of a love that is unconditional. A hope that is eternal. The strength to do more than you ever thought humanly possible, and the courage to even try. It is faith in the One who said, "I am the way and the truth and the life." (John 14:6). "I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you ... So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:9,10). It is the message of Jesus Christ.

We’ve had our days. We blew up some of our equipment when we were in England. We’ve had to hacksaw Charlie out of his van when the lift got stuck. We shorted out the electricity on the whole floor of a hotel we were in. We’ve spent hours getting Charlie ready and loaded into the van only to have some kind of equipment failure, and never make it to our destination. We’ve been guests at a nice restaurant and had to call 9-1-1 and tip Charlie’s wheelchair back, with his feet in the air, because his blood was pooling at his feet and not carrying oxygen to his brain.

Our roadblocks have been many. But the Lord has always provided a way. You can’t give up. There is always hope.

That is our message. And sharing it with you is worth the effort.