Alex now knew he had to rescue his mom before she died.
While Alex was there he calculated that she was eating about 550 calories a
day, not nearly enough to maintain. He knew she wouldn’t last much longer at
that rate.
But how could he get her? Alex dreaded the thought of making
another trip to Florida, not being sure if she would actually go through with
it, not sure if she was able to handle flying, and not sure if the airline
could handle her. And the thought of driving in a car with her for two days reminded him
of the movie “Rainman”.
Soon after the second 911 call that mom made the week after
Alex left, Horace called Alex complaining that she was getting to be too much
to handle. It was a wild chance, but Alex asked Horace if he could put her on a
plane, and that he would be waiting at the other end. Horace refused saying he
wasn’t strong enough, but when Alex suggested he ask Marie and Rob to help, her friends
he met at breakfast, Horace said okay.
It was too good to be true and Alex nearly fell off his
chair when Horace called back an hour later saying, yes they would help. Alex quickly
made a plane reservation for the following day, along with a reservation for
handicap service.
Alex would have given it 10 to one odds that it wasn’t going
to happen. Almost anything could go wrong. Horace could change his mind. Marie
and Bob could change their minds. Lucille could change her mind. She could
freak out on the plane.
Alex and his wife waited patiently at the arrival gate as
plane after plane unloaded its passengers. Finally a woman dressed in a maroon
uniform was wheeling a little old frail crying woman in a wheelchair towards
them.
Alex’s heart melted when in between tears she mumbled the
words “I love you so much. You’re my hero”.
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