A First

The Custer family has this thing called "The Custer Travel Curse." Usually it means that when you travel with a Custer, your flights will be delayed, your connections tight, you'll end up next to the only baby on the flight, you'll get asked to switch to a middle seat so that poor Armenian Grandma can sit next to her family, they'll run out of the good drinks or food before they get to your seat, or you'll be in the one seat on the plan with the broken table tray or the one that doesn't recline or the windown shade that won't shut even if the sun's glaring at you, etc. You get the picture.

Yesterday, it struck in an entirely different way.

I got to the airport around 4:40 am (amazing how little time it took the airport when there was no traffic in Quito) and was the 3rd person in line for Continental. The monitor said they'd open at 5:00, so I was just standing and waiting patiently, checking the clock every few seconds and watching people line up behind me. Suddenly, I started feeling nauseated. My first thought was "Oh no. My curse this time is that I'm going to be in the lavatory all flight barfing!" Then I started getting unbearable hot, and the room started spinning. The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes, lying on the floor, and people were hovering around me. I had fainted!!!!!!!!!!

There happened to be an American girl in line, and she started peppering me with questions, if I was okay, if I needed anything, how long had I been in Quito, that I'd been out for 20-30 seconds, that a medic had already been called, and to stay sitting on the floor. Everyone was really kind in helping me collect my stuff that had scattered all over (I think I pulled it down with me with I fell).

Someone parked a wheelchair next to the check-in counter and helped me into it. I was still pretty shaky at this point, but (laughably now), my biggest worry was my luggage. I tried to sit in the chair while pulling all three of my bags at the same time. Once in the chair, I kept wrestling the suitcase to get it closer and pull my laptop bag into my lap. The medic arrived and took my bloodpressure, pulse, and went through a list of medical conditions they wondered if I had. I don't have anything (that I know of yet), and no, it was my first time fainting. They had trouble believing it, but finally said just to make sure I ate something. Another guy showed up and was put in charge of getting me to the gate, which was by far the nicest side effect I've ever had of a Custer Curse. He checked my bags in for me, paid the airport fee for me, wheeled me to the front of the customs counter and took the right paperwork out of my hand for me, took me through a special security door where I just got the wand while he took care of my carry-on bags for me, and wheeled me right next to the door of the gate! Service.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly other than my growing headache. I ate some nuts in the airport, had a nice hot breakfast on the plane, and lunch in the Houston airport, and then finally felt stable again. No clue what the fainting spell was about. I can't remember at time I've ever felt so vulnerable afterwards, knowing I could black out just like that with so little warning. But God showed himself good, and his hand of protection was still on me.