cont'd
Did I quench a dying man's thirst? / Did I save the life of another?
What could I have done that was so grand / that I got this chance to be your mother?
Whatever act that I performed / whatever task that I got done...
I'm just glad God took note of it... / and chose me to be the one!
Finally, we boarded the plane and settled ourselves for the long trip home. Almost as soon as we'd taken off, I started getting cramps. At first I thought it was the excitement of going home and that eventually it would settle down, but it didn't. I ended up having to spend almost the whole flight to Vancouver standing by the washrooms at the back of the plane. Our seats were too far away and there weren't any free seats at all. I've never been so sick in my life. I remember at one point sitting in that tiny, disgustingly filthy room, thinking, "The plane crashed, I'm dead and this is hell." I was feeling nauseous, so I couldn't face swallowing any medicine. I don't know if it was related to what I'd had the last two days in Beijing, or if I'd got something nasty from the cucumber sandwich in the airport, but it was awful. Rob stayed with me, helping me check my blood sugar and giving me Gatorade to drink when I needed it. Corinne took care of Faith, who ate, slept and walked around the plane in her auntie's arms, having a great time staring at the people. As always, she was a fabulous traveller, thank God! Once again, I wondered how we would have managed if Corinne hadn't been with us.
About two hours before we landed in Vancouver, I took some Kaopectate. I couldn't stand it anymore. I was willing to risk throwing up. Luckily, I was okay with it and I managed to get a little sleep before we landed. I was also all right going through immigration with Faith and doing her paperwork. They were wonderfully fast and very considerate. My next stop was the bathroom in the airport to freshen up and then we were ready to board the plane to Toronto. Unfortunately, it was the same story all over again. As soon as I sat down, the cramps started. At least this time I was seated closer to the washrooms, so I could go back to my seat between bouts. I'd never been so happy to see the lights of Toronto in my life. We deplaned at about 9:00 p.m. and were thrilled to see Matthew with Joanne and Gary, wating for us. I ran to Matthew, hugged him fiercely, and then collapsed in Joanne's arms, crying and telling her how sick I was. She started crying too and after making a big fuss of Faith, (after Matthew, of course, who was the first one to be introduced to his baby sister) she took me to the airport bathroom and I told her as much about our trip home as I could. When we came out, Matthew was wheeling Faith around in her stroller, while we waited for what seemed like forever for our luggage to be taken off the plane. I could see he was already a little jealous of the attention she was getting, but I'd been expecting it and wasn't at all surprised or dismayed. It was going to take him a while to adjust. Joanne convinced me to take some more Kaopectate and as Corinne was getting ready to leave the airport with Aaron, she told me I should stop at the emergency department on the way home. I said I couldn't. I felt like I was going to die, but I was pretty sure I wasn't. I was exhausted, crampy, sore and wanted nothing more than my own shower and bed. Finally, Gary brought the van around and in we climbed. I can't describe the emotion I felt at seeing my neighbourhood and house. I was finally home with my beautiful daughter and son. I felt horrendous physically, but mentally I was overjoyed.
As soon as I walked in the front door, I rushed upstairs, tore off my clothes and hopped in the shower. That was a little piece of heaven. I put a clean nightgown on and climbed right into bed. I didn't even say goodbye to Joanne and Gary, or put my poor darling children to bed. I left it all up to Rob. Thank heavens he's one healthy man, because I don't know what I would have done without him. Faith slept the entire night through in her crib, but that was the only time she did. I guess her jet-lag and exhaustion made her basically unconscious that night, but for three nights after that, she cried when we put her in the crib, sobbing wildly until we brought her in bed with us. After trying to get her to sleep in her crib, which was right up against our bed, so I could put my hand through it and rub her back, we gave up and she's been with us ever since. It's what she needs, so we accommodate her. As much as I'd like her to be in her own bed, Rob and I strongly believe that we're parents at night, just as much as we are in the day and it's our responsibility to be there for our kids. We were for Matthew, who was in bed with us until he was about 18 months and we'll be there in the night for Faith for as long as she needs us. Thus ended our journey to China to bring home the miracle daughter, who was somehow destined to be ours.