Ireland/China 2025 trip, preparation and first days

[aadler]

Travel day – June 10 (and over into 11), Tuesday/Wednesday

We woke early, probably around 6:00AM, and went downstairs for the hotel’s breakfast. Our departure flight wasn’t scheduled till early noon, so we didn’t have to rush to get ready back up in the room. Downstairs again for the hotel shuttle we’d arranged yesterday, and left for the airport at 9:00.

Complications arose immediately. There was a lot of new construction at the airport, so we had to go in through a side entrance instead of being dropped off directly in front. Fortunately, the shuttle driver and an airport worker helped us; the latter went to get a luggage cart, and he pushed our bags ahead of us while I pushed Susan in her wheelchair.

The woman at the booking desk put in a substantial amount of effort on our behalf, and after everything had been arranged she personally pushed Susan to and through the security screening and clear down to our departure gate, while I followed with our carry-on bags. Then we waited for a couple of hours at the airport …

… and likewise waiting for the same flight was one of the priests from the church where we go for Mass. Susan greeted him, they talked for a few minutes, and he even watched our bags later while I wheeled her down to the ladies’ room and back.

Because of the wheelchair issue, we were among the first to board, and checked our carry-ons at the door rather than try to crowd them into the overhead bins. Takeoff at 11:54AM, landed at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport at 1:22PM.

We had a 4½-hour layover there, didn’t take off on the overseas leg of the trip till 6:23PM.

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I can’t really say when we officially crossed into June 11th, since we were flying through time zones. The flight itself was just over 7 hours, and I used my time with in-flight movies (Deadpool & Wolverine, then Moana 2).

Into the final hour of the flight, the woman in the next aisle over had some kind of medical issue; I didn’t become aware of it till a crewmember brought her oxygen, at which point Susan stepped in to assess and comfort, and when a doctor was found — an actual ER physician who was also on his way to Ireland — she brought him up to date and helped with continuing assessment. (There was another nurse available, but the was into her first year of practice and had specialized in labor & delivery, so Susan’s past ICU experience was still pertinent.) They wound up attaching a portable defibrillator to the woman, but it never delivered any shocks, just kept reporting that no such shock was necessary. Would have been better if it had providing a listing of the actual EKG patterns, but you do what you have with what’s there.

(Though there wasn’t enough equipment available to make any comprehensive diagnosis, Susan was positive from the symptoms that the woman had got a small blood clot into her lungs from a deep vein thrombosis. Fortunately, most of the signs were that this wasn’t immediately life-threatening.)

We landed in Dublin at 7:14AM local time, and everyone on the plane waited while EMTs came aboard to assess, treat, and take the woman out. Meanwhile, the crew had taken Susan’s address, and said they would be sending her a $150 gift card for her contributions.

 
First day in Ireland (today)

Neither of us had really slept, though I had dozed a couple of times, I’d guess for less than an hour total. As a result, we were feeling brain-fried and somewhat disconnected. After I collected our carry-ons, an airport worker brought a wheelchair for Susan, pushed her to the baggage claim, loaded all our luggage onto a car — including her wheelchair, which had been checked in at our original departure airport — and then took us outside and found a cab for us.

I already noted that my mental state was somewhat less than fully alert; I was in the cab and we were already heading for the train station before I realized, from Susan’s conversations with him, that our driver was from China (though he’d been in Ireland for a long time, I think he said 22 years). At the train station — Heuston Station — I transported the luggage inside and then Susan, and bought tickets for Waterford. I had to make inquiries in a couple of places regarding 1) whether we could get help for her in boarding the train, and 2) when and at what platform the Waterford train would arrive. We dealt with the immediate situation by putting the small carry-on cases into the wheelchair and Susan pushed it, using it as if it was a rolling walker, while I pushed the big suitcases on rollers. It turned out that our platform was 4b, which was the farthest of all available departure platforms; a young woman from Missouri stepped in and helped Susan, and at the train itself a couple of the stewards immediately took over getting her and our stuff aboard.

The train ride from Dublin to Waterford was a bit over two hours, almost two and a half if I’m remembering right. Another worker, who was departing after that last trip, got us into the arrival terminal and then — as had the man at the airport — found a cab for us.

The cab driver? from Africa.

And, when we reached the hotel we’d reserved in Waterford — somewhat around noon, if I was following correctly, but I hadn’t been able to change my watch over yet and by then I was so tired I was stupid — they checked us in immediately, even though official check-in wouldn’t have been for several more hours yet.

They were already serving lunch; I had something quickly to eat, while Susan had tea brought up to the room. Back upstairs again, I undressed and slept (off and on, Susan kept needing things) until I felt capable of rational function.

In the evening, we went downstairs to the restaurant; I just had an appetizer, still mostly satisfied from my lunch, but Susan wound up giving me a substantial portion of her own meal once she was full.

And our waiter? he was from Brazil. Ireland seems to get a LOT of foreign workers.

Using the hotel’s internet connection, Susan had contacted our daughter via Facebook Messenger (can’t use our phones as phones with a U.S. coverage plan, but other avenues are still available), and we’re to meet with her tomorrow.

To bed now. Seriously, I’m sacking out as soon as I post this.