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“I recently was honored to return Jud and Jolie to CDG with Judi Crouse. Jus and Jolie were fine with each transition from Columbus to JFK to CDG. They were both so sweet and seemed happy to return, even though they may have only had a basic understanding of the trip. They both ate, slept, played, engaged with the crew and were angels during the 3.5hr excursion through the CDG airport. They were absolutely fine with the transition to Pamela, the Air France Flight Attendant and were on their way back to their homes in Northern Africa.
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Sun morning, Pamela returned with Abdul, who is 8. Per usual, he was very quiet and unsure about what was happening. He didn’t eat or speak on the flight with Pamela so she didn’t know if he spoke English or French. At CDG, once the French police took Abdoul and I in the van to our gate, he began to cry and was probably scared, not understanding why we were being taken by the police.The police consoled him by ripping off a uniform patch that was Velcroed on his right sleeve. Abdoul finally stopped crying, probably in shock! So the policeman ripped off the one on the left arm. Abdul kept those tightly in his hands until he put them in his backpack on the plane. He kept pulling them out to try to affix the to his sweatshirt, to no avail.
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Once safely in his seat, Abdul enjoyed a couple children’s movies that were in French, he was very happy. He slept on Judi’s lap and seemed at peace. He looked very relieved when my former colleague, Steven, came to our row and spoke with Abdoul several times. Abdoul didn’t want to speak yet, but he acknowledged everything Steven said.
After not eating on the 2 flights before CDG-JFK, he gobbled up the meatballs, salad, desserts and apple juice on board.
I flew with Abdul to Columbus. Our flight where he listened to African children’s music (Drum World Collective on Spotify.) It was a very short and peaceful flight. I think Abdul was beginning to understand that all of this flying was for his benefit and that a lot of people truly loved and cared for him and wanted to help him get better.
I cannot tell you how honored I was to be part of this trip. I am always so filled with love and joy with every child I get to escort. I know there are significant funding issues with the program. I’ve spoken with many, many flight attendants, pilots, executive platinum and concierge key members who can’t believe AA has dropped the program to support our escorts with A12 passes. There are so many of us who want to be part of making this program work through a variety of fundraising efforts. Please let us know how we can help. Thank you,”
Ellen Wright
Chicago based Flight attendant
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We are now having to buy full fare tickets for this amazing program and soon the money will run out to continue