French Charming or Sleeping Beauty?

Previously I mentioned that French Charming and I only got to see each other one day per month. Well, that’s not entirely true.  It was true if he came to Houston to see me.  However, we could gain a couple extra days if we met at some of his other destinations like we did in LA for example.

We used LA as a destination again a few months after our second date there.  This time, since we had already seen the major sites in LA, we rented a car and drove to San Diego for a day and a half.  We had scheduled a hot air balloon ride before we drove back to LA.

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and the pilot cancelled the flight. At least they take safety seriously!!  So we took our time driving back, stopping to shop and to have lunch.

We found a little diner with retro style and southern charm menu.  I’ve only ever seen fried chicken, coleslaw, and cobbler in those little diners in the south!  I played it safe with a burger – no bun – with all my food allergies.  But French Charming went with the vibe of the diner.

Once the sun had set we decided to get back to LA.  French Charming had mentioned that he had a bit of a headache and upset stomach attributing it to being dehydrated.  I had told him once we got back to the hotel in LA, I had Advil and Tums in my bag.   There we were, driving up Highway 1 in the heart of LA, 7pm with the evening traffic on a weekend night.  All of the sudden French Charming crossed four lanes of traffic without slowing down, dodged the construction cones on the shoulder and pulled over!!!  He threw the car in park the second we stopped and then…. he just went limp!  The seatbelt was the only thing holding him from falling forward over the  steering wheel!

Okay, I’m a doctor.  I work in the operating room where things can go horribly wrong at the drop of a hat.  I have been trained and conditioned to act instinctually in critical situations!!  When you have an unconscious patient – check ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation).  I knew all of this.  It even occurred to me that I may have to pull him out of the car onto the pavement.  Could I get him out of the car?  Were we so dangerously close to the traffic lane that we might get run over?  Would anyone stop to help us?  If I call 911, did I even know where we were to tell them where to come?  All of these things passed through my mind in a fraction of a second.  So what did I do????

I shook him and called his name.  No response.  Now I needed to act.  The first thing I needed to do is see if he was breathing.   I leaned over to see if I could feel his breath.  As I got close I smelled his cologne, I felt the heat of his skin and then ….I kissed him!  What???  I know!!  It was an automatic reflex when I got close to his face!  But…..he woke up!!  I kissed an unconscious French Charming and brought him back to life!  It was just like an equal opportunity fairy tale.  For a brief moment he opened his eyes and looked so lovingly at me and then he promptly jumped out of the car and vomited on the side of the road.  [Insert the music that is often played when a contestant on a game show loses]

We made it back to the hotel.  I nursed him back to health.  I even put it out of my mind that my kiss made him throw up.  To this day we laugh about him being Sleeping Beauty, awakened with a kiss and me, throwing years of training out the window to try the unconventional way to treat an unconscious person, with a kiss.

{photo credit: Pinterest – from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Movie}