Wings of Fate: A Mother's Last Flight

“For every new beginning, there’s an end. With every new opportunity, there’s some catastrophe. Life is fleeting. Memories are all that is left and all we hold dear. ” These are the thoughts the stuck with me as I disembarked from my nearly eighteen hour flight. A flight I dare say I’d never forget.

The day was finally here and it felt so surreal the universe was aligning to give me everything I ever wanted. This was to be my first flight because I got the fully funded scholarship I had worked so hard for to go study abroad and for a child coming from a big African family with no one ever achieving what I just did, well this was a big deal to me and a new beginning.

As I carefully made my way to my seat, I couldn’t shake the excitement I felt. I felt as though a whole new world had opened up to me with so many possibilities and it had. I found my seat and settled in, amidst all my excitement I felt scared because stepping into the plane opened up a new world of possibilities but also a lot of uncertainty and doubt.

“Hi, are you okay ?” I heard someone say very close to me “I’m Clara” I looked up at her and was greeted with a warm smile then she said “ I’m sorry you looked disturbed so I’m just making sure everything’s okay” I told her I was okay and honestly it was just the nerves. I told her it was my first time on a flight and she suggested I listen to some music to calm me since she noticed I had a headset and she assured me everything will be okay. Now that I look back at that day I really needed the assurance. She told me during the course of the flight she’ll keep checking up on me to make sure I was okay and I really appreciated that she did.

I looked around to see other passengers settling into their seats and Clara looked at me and smiled so I smiled back and started feeling more at ease. I felt someone tug at my jacket and turned around to see a little dark haired girl giggling when a woman right behind her said “ I’m so sorry. Hi I’m Martha and this is my daughter Mitch” I told her it was okay and she complimented my hair “You have very nice hair” she said with a broad smile and Mitch said “ I’m sorry” with a mischievous looking smile. Honestly, Mitch reminded me of my little sister back home, cute, funny and stubborn, her mom Martha looked like a very sweet bubbly woman and that made me smile as they took their seats next to me. So if there was one thing I was so grateful for was having two amazing companions because the flight was too long to be around anyone unpleasant.

It was time for our plane to take off, and all passengers were told to fasten their seatbelts, and make sure their bags were secured. My nerves were running all over the place, I didn’t even realize I had closed my eyes and clenched my fists and that was when I felt Martha hold my hand and smile reassuringly. I opened my eyes and looked around to see everyone relatively way more comfortable than me but I guess that is to be expected as it was just my first time flying.

“So, do you have any siblings ?” Martha asked, personally I thought that was a weird way to start a conversation but I guess there’s no particular manual on how to start one so the question made me laugh and I told her yes, yes I did I told her I have more than ten siblings and she laughed. Little Mitch was watching her cartoons and didn’t pay much attention to us. Martha and I went on talking and getting to know each other better. She told me this was the first time she was coming home after 9 years that her dad was of late and her mom and brother were really happy to see her and how she had graduated law school and was on here way back to start her new job and I told her a little about myself as well and how I only had the opportunity to travel because of the fully funded scholarship for an undergraduate program I hard worked really hard for, and how my dad was so proud and how my mom was of late. We talked about so many other things and she told me about the places she visited and meals she had missed, about how Mitch and her grandmother went out sightseeing almost everyday and became the best of friends. I found out she has three nieces and a nephew which she loves so much and that she’s married, happily so if I might add. I felt comfort talking to Martha, she at that point felt like the closest thing I had to a friend miles away from home and on my way to a country I’d never visited before. So we just went on and on about everything and nothing, cracking a few jokes here and there trying not to be loud with our discussion and laughter for obvious reasons. And after some time I felt sleepy and dozed off.

I honestly don’t know for how long I slept, then I woke up to a crying little Mitch going on and on about how she wanted to go back home and how tired she was and honestly I could understand the poor child, because this flight was stressing me out as well but then I started thinking about how my new life would look like and all the possibilities and the feeling of excitement and gratitude returned and I felt really good. Clara approached me and asked “ Hi, are you all better now ?” And I smiled and said yes then she let me know they’ll be serving snacks soon. Then Martha said she had to take little Mitch to the bathroom.

A few minutes later the air hostesses brought snacks as Mitch and Martha returned from the bathroom. Mitch seemed calmer while Martha on the other hand had a very worried look about her. I asked Martha if everything was okay and she said “ Yes I’m okay, It’s just I feel really tired you know sitting still for so long is not something I do plus noticed a rash on my body, I guess I got an allergy or something but don’t worry I’m sure it’s nothing serious” I told her “okay Martha I hope you feel better soon” then we turned our attention towards Mitch who was having her snacks and watching teletubbies.

When we were done a hostess came to clear the plates so I asked her if she could tell me for how long we’ve been flying and she said approximately fourteen going fifteen hours, to me it felt like an eternity already but now I could justify how much sleep I was getting in because apart from talking to Martha there was nothing much I could do and I wasn’t interested in watching any movies.

Some time passed and I looked at Martha who looked a little pale and a little Mitch who was fast asleep. I asked her what was the first thing she was going to do when she got back home and she said “ Well , there’s a lot I want to do really but I’ll hug my husband for a full 24 hours if I could” then she laughs and adds “ I’m really excited for my new job you know it’s like I’m about to go on another journey, another milestone in my life and it’s so exhilarating. What about you ? What is the first thing you would like to do when you get there ?” And that’s when it hit me and I just told her “ Well, I don’t know Martha I’ll be going straight to campus but I’m looking forward to meeting my roommate” Martha then asked me “ Do you have a paper and pen ?” I didn’t but I did have my tablet on me and I told her then then she said “ You can have my number and call me if you face any difficulties I just leave in the next town” I was genuinely happy to hear this and I thanked her, I couldn’t believe I had made a new friend even before I got to my destination and I felt elated.

I had my headphones on and was looking towards the window, looking at the clouds and just feeling grateful when I then looked at Martha to find her looking really uncomfortable. I immediately took my headphones off and looked at her and asked if she was okay and she almost breathlessly replied “ My body hurts a lot I guess I’m going to need to exercise a lot immediately we land” I felt how slurred her speech was and instantly felt something wasn’t right. I called for the attention of a hostess and said “ Excuse me please, I think she needs some help” the hostess looked over at her, walked over to her side of the aisle and asked her if anything was wrong or if she needed anything and suddenly Martha couldn’t pronounce anything, her speech was so slurred and it had gotten a lot worse. I saw the hostess try to calm her down and everyone else because other passengers were looking our way worried but I could see a certain look or fear about her.

The hostess rushed to get Martha some water, but Martha felt nauseous and as she was about to stand, she fell, was caught halfway by a hostess and you could hear other hostesses asking if there was a medical doctor or personnel on board and a lady said “ Me, I’m a trauma nurse” so the hostess asked if she was willing to help and she agreed and rushed over, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from what was happening to Martha a rush of emotions came over me and as if pulled from a trance I heard Clara ask me “ Did she tell you about anything that made her uncomfortable, I saw you two talking, if she did please we need to know” I recounted to them how she told me she had a rash and her body hurt all over. The trauma nurse asked me “ Where did she say she has a rash ?” And I couldn’t tell them because she didn’t tell me where the rash was and as if by instinct the nurse opened her shirt and saw a cluster of tiny dark red looking rash from her lower collarbone to her chest area causing serious discoloration. While all this was happening, little Mitch held on to me and kept crying and crying and I broke down and started crying as well, the hostesses tried to calm everyone down and told everyone to remain seated and one of them rushed to let the crew know what was happening. That was when trauma nurse said the worst possible thing you would want to hear about a loved one in a very low tone to the flight attendant holding an unconscious Martha “ This patient looks sepsis and is having a septic shock ” I didn’t know what that meant, I’d never heard of an illness like that then the nurse proceeds to ask the hostesses “ Do you guys have any antibiotics ?” And the air hostess replied “No, I don’t think so” then the nurse calmly told the hostess who was holding a shallow breathing Martha “ I need you to not move Martha and to ask the crew if we could land anytime from now” one of the hostesses rushed to the cockpit but was told they couldn’t have an emergency landing and as the hostess came back with this information for the trauma nurse you could see tears swell up in her eyes and she asked if Martha can be taken somewhere comfortable to lay down and the hostess said they would try to make that possible but as they were talking the nurse saw the same movement on Martha’s chest that I saw through her shirt and listened for a heartbeat, she didn’t say anything but you could see her take up her arm and feel for a pulse and when she couldn’t find one she looked up at me and little Mitch and you could see the tears rolling down her eyes. I heard one of the hostesses say a crew member has informed them that there will be an ambulance and medical team waiting for us when we landed in an hour and some minutes and to try to manage the situation.

The trauma nurse got up and asked to speak to the hostesses privately, then they walked away just to returned and tell little Mitch that they would have to take her and her mommy to business class and told her mommy is just sleeping because she isn’t feeling too well. Clara came to me and told me Martha had passed away and they will have to move her body to business class because they have some empty seats there away from passengers and if I would like to go sit with Mitch and without hesitation I agreed. Some members of the crew carried Martha’s body and Mitch and I followed. They also helped us carry our hand luggage and personal items and as we walked in that aisle I could feel the atmosphere of the plane change and I could see a few strangers crying.

We made our way to business class and sat down, Martha’s body was wrapped and covered with a white sheet. Mitch clung to me and fell asleep and I sat there and thought back to seventeen hours earlier at how bubbly and sweet Martha was, I sat there and cried profusely for a stranger I had never known, I saw how in the blink of an eye, life changes, I asked myself why faith couldn’t have allowed her hug her husband one last time ?, couldn’t she have at least started a job she worked so hard to get?. The plane was landing in an hour or less and while I’d have a new beginning at the end of this flight, Martha had a final end and Mitch’s life changed forever.

I cried myself to sleep. Sometime after I woke up, Clara came to me as said “ Hi, how’re you holding up ?” From the way she looked she was probably somewhere crying like I was and I told her I was okay. She then proceeded to tell me that the flight was landing soon and to not leave when the flight lands immediately because I would have to be given a medical check up and be asked a few questions but it’s nothing for me to worry about and I told her that was okay with me as she looked at me with swollen eyes and gently walked away. “ Mommy is gone” I heard little Mitch say with little sobs and I had no idea what to say to her except hold her and cry with her.

When the plane landed, and everyone had disembarked, some medical personnels came and got Martha and accompanied us to an ambulance, Martha’s husband was called to get Mitch and I was given a check up and asked a few questions about what had happened on the flight to which I gave an explicit detailed explanation.

As I disembarked from the plane, I had a lot of mixed feelings about everything. A feeling a loss, pain and gloom set over me as I looked at little Mitch walking with the officer in front of me wondering how much this experience will affect her life. Everything with Martha happened so fast. With this experience, I made up my mind to live everyday as though it were my very last and be more grateful for everything and everyone around me.