Can I Get a Little Oxygen?

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Geo: 38.9821, -77.5386

The flight was completely full; in fact, it was oversold and they were pressing hard to entice volunteers to give up their seats and fly the next day. It was later confirmed that in addition to the United passengers forced to bypass Brussels, the Star Alliance airlines were trying to accommodate all of Brussels Airlines passengers headed to the States, as all of their flights were cancelled indefinitely. The scene on our plane was being repeated on many other United and Lufthansa flights that day in Frankfurt.

A couple of hours outside of Dulles, we became aware of a ruckus in the seat behind us. We soon pieced together than the woman sitting directly behind K, in the middle seat, had started to complain of breathing problems. The flight attendant (who had been a nurse) immediately took control of the situation and arranged an oxygen mask for the woman, who wore it for the remainder of the flight. They moved the person sitting next to her into one of the crew rest seats, to allow her more space. I give them kudos for how they handled the whole situation. We're not sure, however, how it ended up, as upon landing we joined the throngs of others seeking to escape the plane and get to Customs. She was still sitting there on oxygen as we exited.

It was "prime time" at Dulles, with half a dozen overseas flights piling up. Our Global Entry was again a lifesaver, and we cleared immigration immediately. Any time savings was then eaten up as we waited a long time for bags. Still, they all made it -- including a new additional bag, full of souvenir goodies.

As soon as we exited the airport, we could clearly see that all the trees has blossomed in our absence, with dogwoods and redbuds in their glory all around. It made for a somewhat picturesque drive home, though almost immediately, all three of us could feel our seasonal allergies begin to kick in. Ah...the joys of springtime in Washington!

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