Our Story

January 3rd, 2009 was a day that we will never forget. It had already been an emotional day as we had to once again say goodbye to our friends and family. Little did we know how emotionally draining the day would become. We thought our trip had started off with enough difficulty, as we had to wait in line at the ticket counter for over an hour because there were only two, and sometimes just one, ticket agents working the counter. Our first flight went well enough. It was just a little hop from Atlanta to Chicago. The next leg of the trip was the big one, all the way from Chicago to Germany. We boarded one plane, were we sat and waited for what seemed like forever. After being unable to fix a leak they had been working on for over an hour, we were instructed to leave the plane. It was while we were waiting for this second plane to fly to Germany that Amanda’s pain seemed to go from bad to really bad. We waited at our new gate for at least another hour and finally we boarded the new plane. We settled into our seats and were ready for takeoff, or so I thought.

By now, Amanda’s pain had now gotten much worse. As the plane was taxing out to the run way she looked at me and said, “I have to go to the bathroom now.” I think it was at that moment that we both realized what we desperately hoped would not happen was happening. Amanda was having a miscarriage. I am assuming the flight attendants could see the distress on my face because they asked what was wrong and I told them, “I think my wife is having a miscarriage.” The got on the PA system and asked if there were any doctors on board and two German men came to the back of the plane, but prove to be little help in the given situation. Another lady also came to the back of the plane, a lady Hannah had befriended while we were waiting for our plane. She was a midwife and she gave me the most helpful advice. The flight attendants had been asking me if I wanted them to taxi back to the gate and call for paramedics. After talking with the mid-wife about potential concerns for a little bit, I said yes.

It didn’t seem like long before they were taking Amanda from my arms and putting her in the ambulance. I had to tell her goodbye and that I would see her at the hospital because I had to go take care of the kids. I did not see Amanda again for well over an hour. Between trying to find a cab that would take the voucher the airline gave us, and the cab driver first taking us to the wrong place, it seemed like we were never going to get there.

Our time in the hospital was a blur. When we first got there the word was Amanda would be discharged that night. Well, after many sleepless hours and a lot of bad food Amanda was finally discharged about 4:30 pm the next day.

We left the hospital and checked into our hotel. The first night we all stayed together- we crashed hard because we were all exhausted. That next day Amanda’s mom came to Chicago and took the kids back to Georgia. It worked out well because it gave Amanda and I sometime to be alone together, to process the previous 24 hours and grieve together. The next afternoon Amanda and I flew back to Georgia where Amanda was able to get some much needed rest and the kids had time to rest and get over being sick. It was really nice to be able to be with friends and family and begin the process of working through thoughts and emotions from these very traumatic few days.