American stuck in Middle East escapes in race to reach critically ill husband in California

FIRST ON FOX — Judith Wilson of Walnut Creek, California, had been stranded in Dubai for the last few days on a business trip while her husband, Doug, prepared for emergency heart surgery back home.

For days, she'd been desperately trying to get out of the Middle East amid the Iran operation.

"My husband went to the ER Monday with back pain and was diagnosed with a heart condition," Wilson told Fox News Digital. He was immediately scheduled for open-heart surgery — while she was thousands of miles from home. 

On Wednesday, Wilson's colleague got word a flight was going to take off. So Wilson "sprinted to the airport and called the travel agency," she said.

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"I got the very last seat to London Heathrow Airport," she said.

Like many other American travelers, Wilson had been trapped in Dubai since the beginning of the Iran operation over the weekend. The mother of two college-age boys became very anxious when she started seeing alerts on her phone Saturday evening.

"The real fright was [on] Saturday evening," she said. "There were 1,000 people in the lobby of the JW Marriott, and as many devices rang out."

She added, "Americans were definitely scared."

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Wilson, 57, a software sales executive, said she was on a business trip when she heard about the war.

"On Saturday, I was with some colleagues at the Atlantis hotel," she said. "We heard huge explosions."

She described the mood as concerned, but still "business-as-usual."

"It was kind of like when turbulence hits, and you see the flight attendants are calm — so you figure you should be too," she said.

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Even so, she described a scene Saturday night in which many travelers were crying in the hotel lobby as people huddled together.

There were "regular booms" during her time in Dubai, she said. She saw plumes of smoke. 

There was no bunker in the hotel, she said, but the staff set up lobby couches with blankets, so hotel guests could remain together and try to get some sleep.

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By Monday, the mood normalized somewhat, she said, and travelers were able to leave the hotel. She even visited the Etihad Museum — which documents the history, culture and formation of the UAE federation.

Throughout the tension of her days there, Wilson's main concern was her 58-year-old husband. 

When she finally arrived at the airport Wednesday, she was very emotional, she said. "I was crying, explaining that my husband was going into triple bypass surgery."

The mood among family members back home in California, meanwhile, was one of intense concern, she said.

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Her husband's "blood pressure skyrocketed to an alarming level," she said. 

"He had to be transferred quickly to [John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center]. They found an accumulated blockage that was undiagnosed."

Her travel from Dubai to California would take about 28 hours. Thankfully, she said, Dubai International Airport was very calm.

She boarded an Emirates flight. "There were no delays. There were very few flights, so we boarded extremely early," she said. 

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Her sons, meanwhile, have been at her husband's side. 

"I felt so utterly relieved once we made it to mid-Saudi," she told Fox News Digital.

Kristy Ellmer, a consultant from New Hampshire, was also in Dubai with her husband, Matt Carwell, over the weekend, as Fox News Digital has reported.

She was there on a business trip, and was taking some time to relax, too. On Saturday, everything changed.

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"We were just sitting on the beach," Ellmer told Fox News Digital in an interview. "All of a sudden, we felt explosions."

Ellmer was originally scheduled to leave Dubai on Sunday night. She had multiple flights canceled, but she and her husband finally got onto a flight Wednesday to Munich.

Four people were injured in a hotel fire in the Palm Jumeirah area of Dubai after a loud explosion was reportedly heard over the weekend.

The Dubai Media Office, a government entity, said in a statement Saturday that the fire was contained.

"The safety and well-being of residents and visitors remain the highest priority. Authorities continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard the public. The public is urged to remain calm, rely solely on verified information from official sources, and refrain from circulating videos or images on social media," the media office wrote on X.