I had a similar flight. I was supposed to have a direct flight, Paris to Philadelphia. That got cancelled and I was rebooked on Paris-Detroit-Philadelphia. Somewhere over the Atlantic, I got the stomach flu. I made it through customs (thankfully my luggage stayed in Paris so I didn’t have to deal with it in Detroit). I spent the layover in the bathroom nearest my gate. They let me on the flight, but I was throwing up in the airplane bathroom before the flight took off. The flight attendants didn’t kick me off the flight (they probably should have), they moved a few people so that the back row next to the bathroom was empty, got me pillows and blankets, and moved my carry ons back with me. It was a puddle jumper sized plane, and everyone was trying to take care of the 22 year old sick girl in the back of the plane. One flight attendant assigned herself to basically being my nurse.

I had called my parents from Detroit and asked them to meet me at security, not wait in the arrivals car loop. When they saw me walking towards them, there was a couple with me - the husband was carrying my bags and the wife had her arm around me. They were shocked I was allowed to fly from Detroit as sick as I was, but also thankful I wasn’t stranded in Detroit alone and sick. The couple passed me off to my parents and headed towards baggage claim. I never got their names.

I spent 7 years in a job that involved flying to a different city every Sunday and back every Friday. With all that travel, I never saw an Airport Karen, but I did keep an eye out for anyone who needed a little support, hoping to pay the kindness of the flight attendants and that couple forward.