Middle East War: Northern Ireland woman didn't eat or sleep for a week until she got toddlers home from Dubai
An Armagh woman didn't eat or sleep for a week as she tried to escape Dubai with her two toddlers – the airport suffering a direct hit as they were about to board their flight out.
Denise Curran had just arrived in the city for a “the holiday of a lifetime” with her husband Michael Gallagher and children Sienna, four, and Reece, two, just as the Middle East war broke out.
As the war raged, she told her children that the loud bangs were a fireworks display – and that fighter jets were “superhero airplanes” in a bid to shield them.
The occupational therapist and styling and events blogger only arrived the day before the war broke out.
“We were walking to the restaurant, and the next thing we knew everybody started to look up the sky,” she said.
“We heard the bang, the explosions overhead, and we were like, 'What is this?'.
“Everybody started running in a panic.”
They got back to their beachfront apartment – 20 floors up – where they saw the missiles and jet fighters.
The couple spent the night singing to their children.
“I told them that it was the best fireworks display ever and the jets were superhero airplanes. I thought we were going to die.”
The next morning she went down to the security guard and broke down crying.
His face was full of fear as he replied: ‘Ma'am, we're all afraid, but we just have to try and stay calm.’
Neither the UK nor Irish embassies were of any help, she said.
A friend drove her to the airport to get earlier tickets home but they were turned away.
So he took her to the headquarters of Emirates Airlines, but a woman who “looked blankly” said they could not help.
“I just broke down crying, and this lovely man came over to me, and he seemed to be like one of the head guys.”
He got a manager who found them four tickets leaving the next morning.
“I thanked him with all my heart and hugged them both.”
The next morning they were in the airport when they were ushered into train tunnels.
“I put earphones on the children so they could watch Peppa Pig and not hear everybody screaming.”
Everything around them shook as the missile hit.
“We just looked at each other and thought, 'This is it'.”
While the men were calmer, there was lots of mothers with children around them. “You just see the fear in each other.”
As they boarded their plane nine hours later Denise grabbed the hand of an airline official and said: “You are so, so brave.”
A tear ran down her face as she replied: “I don't feel brave right now.”
At take-off they were escorted by two jet fighters. Denise prayed solidly for the first hour.
When they landed in London there was loud clapping and cheering.
“As soon as I actually touched down, some of the fear drained away but the aftermath is still there,” she said.
Her daughter can be emotional and clingy now but her son appears to be unaffected.
“I have taken time off work to reset my nervous system and relax and to try and eat again,” she added. “I didn’t eat or sleep for the whole week.”