“Can we help you take your cardigan off so that I can check your blood pressure and heart rate?”
“I’ve got it,” I say, and try to remove it myself, but find that my arms aren’t cooperating.
Multiple hands step in to help, and I force my eyes open again to take in the scene. Bianca and Doctor Emily are closest to me, and two other flight crew members hover behind them. My heart beats so fast it practically hums as they coo words of encouragement and guide my arms out of my sleeves.
“What’s happening to me?” I ask, reeling with the possibility that something is actually wrong.
“I’m not sure yet,” Doctor Emily says. “But I’m here to help. I want you to focus on taking a few deep breaths in and out. Can you do that for me, Drew?”
Bianca leans into my view and models how I should be breathing, and I try to match her, but fail miserably.
“Are you currently taking any medications?” Doctor Emily asks.
“No.”
“What about the pill case you had earlier?” she asks, placing the cold metal of her stethoscope to my overheated skin. “Can you show me what you took?”
I nod weakly and gesture towards my purse. Doctor Emily digs through my things for the emergency kit and holds it up so I can see it.
“Which of these pills did you take, and how many?”
I point to the yellow compartment. “Four of those.”
“Four!” Bianca exclaims, then puts her hand over her mouth, either in horror or to keep from another outburst.
“How far apart did you have those four pills, Drew?” Doctor Emily asks.
I push aside how panicked Bianca just sounded and focus all my energy on recalling what happened. “Some in the beginning, and then some just now.”
“Beginning of the day?” Doctor Emily asks.
“Beginning of the flight.” I correct.
“Drew, let me know if I am hearing you correctly. You took four of these pills since we took off an hour ago?”
I nod, feeling too nauseous to open my mouth to speak. A lot of good those pills did me.
“I had no idea,” Bianca says defensively. “If I did, I wouldn’t have served her an alcoholic drink.”
One of the faceless crew members behind Bianca chuckles, and the demeanor of the group assisting me visibly relaxes.
“You’re going to be okay, Drew,” Doctor Emily says, removing the pulse oximeter from my finger and looping her stethoscope around her neck. “You just took double the recommended dose of Dramamine for someone your size, which can cause drowsiness, and had alcohol on top of it, which intensifies the effect. You are probably about to take the best nap of your life.”
The mention of the word nap makes my eyelids heavy as lead.
“Let’s see if we can get her to drink some water before she falls asleep,” Doctor Emily adds.
“Absolutely, I’ll be right back with another bottle.”
A nagging feeling jockeys for my attention as I wait for Bianca to return, but I am so exhausted that I can’t focus enough to concentrate on it.
I am forgetting something, clearly, but I can’t remember what. Plus, Bianca and Doctor Emily don’t let me fall asleep until I get down a water bottle and a few pretzels, so that depletes any brainpower I had left.
Whatever I am forgetting will have to be addressed when I wake up from my nap. When they finally stop fussing over meand allow me to rest, I ball up my cardigan to use as a pillow and drift off into what is the first dreamless sleep I’ve had in years.
When I come to, the entire plane is empty, except for me, Doctor Emily, and the flight crew. I rub my eyes to adjust to the harsh overhead light and take in the smiling faces around me.
“How do you feel, sleeping beauty?” Doctor Emily asks.
