A Sad Detour

Bonnie and I just arrived in Milan moments ago. Our trip took a bit longer than we had planned for all the wrong reasons. We departed Minneapolis and connected at JFK for a direct flight to Milan. But, sadly, about 4 hours into the seven and one-half hour flight across the pond, a flight attendant suffered an apparent heart attack. There happened to be a cardiologist on board who attended to her needs as best he could without the wondrous medical devices that are normally at his disposal. But, after consulting with the captain, they made the decision to divert the plane to Dublin which would allow her to get proper medical attention two hours earlier than if we had proceeded direct to Milan.

As the captain stormed back into the cockpit, I heard the turbines wind to max power and we climbed as high as the jet could go. He had the pedal to the metal and soon we were travelling at 900 kmh. Minutes after we set down in Dublin, paramedics swept the patient off the plane and into an ambulance.

I cannot imagine the fear that must have existed in this woman. To suffer a heart attack is tragedy enough but to do such while over the middle of an ocean and hours from proper care, well, that is something that I just cannot comprehend. My prayers and thoughts are with her.

We were four hours late, a small concession to hopefully save a life. And I must credit the patience and understanding of every single passenger. I only snapped four frames yesterday in the Minneapolis airport terminal. This is the new rotunda that was added to the eastern portion of the concourse a few years ago. The ceiling is a play on a modern turbine image.

Now I am off to a meeting and then to explore some of our favorite haunts of Milan.