Dear Family and Friends,
At last the pulmonologist has said John is stable enough to travel, though still seriously ill. John’s sister has helped us immensely with arranging an air ambulance, a small jet outfitted like an ICU unit, which will arrive in New Delhi on Friday night. The crew will sleep and then take off with John and me at 11:00 AM Saturday, New Delhi time, 12:30 AM US time. The trip is a little over 20 hours with 5 stops for refueling, but John will not have to move. We will arrive at Dulles Airport on Saturday, December 29th at 11:45 PM EST. We have a respiratory doctor, an emergency doctor, and a critical care nurse on board with us, and all the oxygen that John needs.
We will go directly to the Respiratory Care unit at George Washington University, where Dr. Ann Medinger, John’s pulmonologist, will take over his care and evaluation. We are greatly relieved to be on our way home to family and friends, and anxious about what still lies ahead. We will need a few days to regather as a family and get our bearings, so please send notes rather than calling. I will keep the updates coming.
Wing your prayers to us as we wing our way home.
Love,
Barbara — and John
