We left our London Hotel on the 8th for the airport. No breakfast. I have had a problem with motion sickness all of my life and have taken pills for it, and today was no different. Preparation is the key. So, we headed to Heathrow to take a place to Rome, which was our next stop on the tour.
Our plane was BEA. It stood for British European Airways, but they really should have called it the train with wheels. They had seats facing one another as a train does. I was in a seat that faced the back of the plane. It was a very weird feeling. Just after takeoff, the attendants brought around a lunch of ham. It didn't look very appetizing, so I skipped it. I knew that when we got to Rome, the food would be better than what he had experienced in England.
Just then, the plane dropped what seemed like 8000 feet in 2 seconds. It was like being on a runaway elevator. It was like some of those rides at the amusement park. But, this was different. My stomach was left up in the air, and I began to hyperventilate. I couldn't breathe, and my blood pressure was sky high. I thought I was having a heart attack at 20 years of age. All of the blood rushed out of my face, which turned as white as a sheet. My skin was clammy, and I was sweating profusely, despite being cold. My friends summoned a flight attendant, who took one look at me, and declared a medical emergency. The plane was too far along to turn back, so they decided to head onto Rome. They cleared out the seat and had me lie down on the three seats. They brought oxygen. They had me breathe into a paper bag. There were a couple of doctors on the flight. One gave me some pills. I don't know what they were, but nothing was helping. Both men and women attendants were working on me. It was a very scary situation to say the least. The doctors had run out of ideas, and preparation was made to have an ambulance meet the plane to take me to a hospital.
There was an elderly British lady sitting three rows back who told the attendant--"Give him hot tea". As they had done everything else, she gave me the tea as a last resort. After all, nothing else had worked. I drank the tea, and the color came back in my face. I stopped sweating, and I no longer felt cold. My blood pressure came down, and I stopped hyperventilating. I was back to normal. The ambulance was cancelled. I don't know who that lady was, but I thank God she was on my flight. It also kind of goes to show that home remedies sometimes work just as well as fancy doctors.
So, we landed in Rome. Everyone asked me how I was doing. I felt fine. And then, those drugs I had been given on the plane kicked in, and I was flying high. I smiled a lot. The older folks in my group thought I was just happy to be on the ground. Some of the younger ones knew better.
The girls were told that guys in Rome liked to pinch butts, and just be aware of that. They brushed it off as being silly advice, but they learned very quickly that the advice was good. We went to the Spanish Steps, which was close to our hotel, and the girls had to take extra care. It was kind of funny to watch. Our hotel was the Imperiale. It was an old hotel with some modern conveniences. It was nicer than the one we left in London, but still not a deluxe hotel. I spent that night sleeping off my drugs. We had a busy day tomorrow.
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