Today we started our journey home, back to Seattle. Looking at the schedule, I knew it would be a long and challenging day, I just didn’t know how challenging it would be!!! 
Original schedule:

What really happened:

All went well with waking up at 1:30AM, luggage pick-up at 2:15AM, getting a ride to the airport at 2:30AM – 4:30AM and checking our luggage straight through from Dublin to Seattle.  We even boarded the plane on time.  This is when everything started to go bad.  Note: We only 100 minutes to get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport.  If you have ever been to Heathrow, you can imagine what a challenge that can be, even with two good knees (FYI: I am having knee replacement surgery on both knees when I get home).  I was proactive and requested “mobility assistant”, from British Airways, to make the trip from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5. 

Since it is a short flight from Dublin to London, they must get landing clearance before they take-off from Dublin.  That delayed our departure by 30 minutes.  When we got to London there was someone waiting for me to wheel me through Terminal 2, but she had to pick up two others, and the other two people were a no-show.  That delayed us another 10 minutes.  The mobility helper was great and got us to a spot to catch a bus from Terminal 2 to Terminal 5, but the bus was 10-15 minutes late in picking us up.  The mobility helper said that there would be someone waiting for us to wheel me through Terminal 5.

Upon arriving at Terminal 5 there were over 30 people waiting to get wheelchair assistance.  We had to instantly decide to start walking no matter how much it hurt or how slow I walked.  The next delay was at the first security check, and our boarding passes wouldn’t scan into the system.  I asked an agent for help and thankfully we were rushed through the line.  After a long walk we came to the next security check point where we had to go through a metal detector and get scanned.  We now have about 30 minutes before our flight leaves for Seattle and they are starting to board the plane.  The line was so long, I ask another agent for help, and she got us moved to the front of the line.

Next, after a five-minute walk we caught a train to our gate area.  I knew we were cutting it very close, so I asked Carol to run ahead as soon as we go off the train and hold the plane.  As I was hobbling along, I saw Carol run up two flights of escalator and toward our departure gate.  Eventually I got to the gate and Carol was waiting for me with the gate agent.  The plane is supposed to close its door at 9:30 AM and pull back at 9:40. I was the last one to board the plane at 9:39AM.  We made it by one minute!!!!  We never would have made the flight without Carol’s race to the gate. The flight and going through U.S. Customs was uneventful, and even pretty fast...for customs.