Honduras

I just came back from a quick trip down to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I of course have been there twice before on an Escort trip. This time I was down there to fetch a little girl named Raquel. She was born with congenital bilateral hip dislocation. After five botched operations in Honduras, she was accepted for an evaluation and treatment at Shriners Hospital in St. Louis.

I left home on the first flight to Miami, leaving at 6am (and we all know I am not a morning person). We were late arriving into Tegucigalpa, but the ground staff there is so wonderful, they had me already checked in for the return leg home, so I did not even have to complete Immigration formalities.

I am always a bit anxious when I have to take kids TO the states because they usually get upset when they have to leave their families. Raquel was so laid back and mellow, she was not visibly upset or anything.

I had told the crew on the way in what I was doing, so they really went out of their way to help us on the return leg home. We got to sit in First Class, which was nice instead of having to be cramped back in coach with the heathens. I brought a DVD player along and Raquel got to watch Dumbo and Lilo & Stitch (in Spanish) and I also brought her a little stuffed animal and a coloring book and crayons so I was well provisioned with things to keep her occupied.

We had a brief layover in Miami (where we had pizza). Normally the Miami airport looks like a refugee center, but that day it was actually quite calm. We both were pretty exhausted and slept most of the way on the flight to St. Louis.

Raquel's host family was waiting for us outside security. They don't speak Spanish and Raquel speaks no English so they will have a bit of a challenge when it comes to communicating. Luckily, Kelin, the little girl with scoliosis that I brought out last year lives with another host family down the street, so that will make Raquel's transition easier. It really speaks volumes about a family

that is willing to accept a child into their home for medical care.