The long road to Quito

Sunday, November 11
As I envisioned, I got no sleep at all. I did not care - it was just so good to know I’d make it to Quito before Vati’s operation!! Mischelle and Luke arrived shortly before we headed to the airport with a walkie-talkie system, their gift to our parents, designed to make communication between Vati’s upstairs bedroom and the downstairs kitchen area and Jesus (their housekeeper) easier.

I quickly kissed and hugged everyone adieu and Rick and I headed to SFO. Once at the airport, I was once again selected as an “SSSS” passenger, needing much closer security scrutiny. Since my flight had been booked with less than 24 hours in advance of its departure, I was considered a high security risk. No problem!! This time, I knew what to do, which is to sit back and let the security guards do their thing without talking to them and soon I was through security and ready to board the flight to Miami.

It was an uneventful flight, as was the stay in Miami. I got a chance to text message with Rick and Christina right upon the time we had boarded the flight to Lima, Peru and had to turn off our cell phones. That was fun!

The flight to Lima also was uneventful. I managed to sleep a little on both flights, still, never making up for the almost 40 hours of waking time I had behind me.

As I drifted to sleep, I kept having a grateful heart for being able to be with my parents over the next days, and a sad heart for missing so many events in my family’s lives: Christina’s performance on the 15th, Hans’ last four performances, both in the Amador Fall Play, Metamorphoses. Not getting a chance to help out as house manager nor helping Ann with concessions. Missing Mark’s football awards ceremony. Missing Ryan’s play with ACT. Missing Veterans Day and the entire week off from school for Thanksgiving, missing Thanksgiving - a first for us. Missing Mark’s end of season party and a chance to publicly thank his awesome coaching team. Missing a chance to interpret for various Spanish-speaking families during parent-teacher conference time. Not being there to hear how the auditions for “Thoroughly Modern Millie” go with Christina. Missing the Gatlin's Christmas party - a tradition the kids and I have maintained for a ton of years as our official start of the Christmas season. Missing tech rehearsals and the first shows of Mark’s performances in James and the Giant Peach and Phantom Tollbooth on Sunday, December 2nd. Not getting a chance to help create the marketing materials for our next season with Dublin Parks and Recs… and these are just “off the top of my head”… yet I also was grateful for the things I did make before the trip - Mark’s last football game and the first two shows of Metamorphoses. And I got a chance to see Linda Tinoco, my little friend who had battled leukemia and was winning, get her dream trip to Disneyworld on Thursday. Plus I was able to get some publicity done for Metamorphoses - I was happy about the notice in the Pleasanton Weekly with a picture from one of the rehearsals.
Overall, I was more grateful than anything, having come so close to not making it there in time to see Vati prior to his surgery…

Monday, November 12
We landed in Lima, Peru shortly before 6am; just a tad late. I took my time exiting the plane. Since the flight attendants had ran out of the customs and immigration paperwork for Peru, I had to make sure I was able to secure the forms before getting into the long line to enter the country. While I was in line, I was grateful for the Mark's iPod - there was a screaming young child who was allowed to simply howl and howl, exasperating the long line of arriving passengers. I gratefully listened to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was in the best of moods. Once in Lima, I got my luggage and headed to the TACA counter. I was seventh in line, however, there was only one counter open, so we barely made progress in the following hour, when two more representatives arrived. Once I got in front of one, a friendly new rep, she was not able to give me a boarding pass. She had no notice of the Lima-Quito portion of my trip, which looked canceled to her. I ended up having to haul all of my luggage upstairs to the American Airlines office, which was closed. Fortunately, I found another door to the interior office and I was again lucky to find a woman willing to help me even though the office did not open until 9am. After a bit, she was able to print my ticket and once again, I was in line at TACA, although this time I went right back to the agent who had tried to help me earlier. I was given a boarding pass and sent on my way to pay my airport tax and head to security and the gate. Upstairs I ordered a nice breakfast and even had a chance to taste Peruvian aji - not bad…

I paid the $30.25 airport tax and was given change in Soles - not particularly useful since I was leaving the country. I gave my change to the only friendly person I encountered outside of the AA and TACA counters - the immigration agent lady who processed my exit from Peru. When passing through security, once again my carry-on had to be opened. A dumb-as a door-nail woman riffled through EVERYTHING in my bag, down to opening every zippered item and looking through it all. She found a couple of Tampax and asked me what they were for. I just stood there, dumbfounded, looking at her. When I explained its use, she seemed astounded by it - and I begun to lose my patience. Ah, she also made me drink my Dr. Pepper or she would have tossed it. The security check at SFO did not even do that!

I walked to the empty gate area for the Quito flight and was almost immediately gone - overcome with sleep and fatigue from the last 48 hours. I laid my head over my luggage and stretched out over three seats. I slept through arriving and departing flight announcements until I woke up 30 minutes shy of our departure time. A bus took us to the tarmac to board the small plane and soon we were airborne, heading to Quito. I think I slept though most of the flight. When we landed, about 20 minutes later than expected, I was refreshed and looking forward to seeing my family. I was able to spot Klaus and Verito going through the newly formed immigration line. In no time I was with them.

They took me home to take a shower and repack my bag to take to the hospital. Klaus and Verito offered me their place to stay, as an alternative to the hospital, but I reminded them I had come to be with Vati and Mutti and help them out, and some of that help included aid at night.

The gas tank that heats the upstairs water was apparently empty, so I had to take a quickie shower in ice cold water - refreshing! Quickly we headed to the hospital where Vati had been admitted to room 104 the night before.

I was so excited to see my parents again! Vati looked amazingly great!! His cheeks were rosy and glowing, his eyes shiny and filled with fun. Mutti too looked great. They both seemed relaxed and content with the prospects ahead, even the cleaning of the bowels did not seem too daunting to Vati. It turns out that went much easier and without much drama this time… no details are necessary...

Klaus and Verito stayed for quite a while; I think I fell asleep for a little bit sometime that evening, while Klaus was at a work-related meeting and Verito and Mutti talked and Vati rested. Eventually we ordered pizzas with salad, etc. from Dominos, which we shared. Soon after the Fielsch left for Cumbaya, we all got ready for bed. We had a peaceful and uneventful night - so vastly different from the nights prior to the scheduled operation a mere five weeks ago, when Mutti and I were filled with dread and fear, thinking Vati might not make it through the operation. My last conscious thoughts prior to sleep were of gratitude for the remarkable turn-around Vati’s health had undergone…