Worst Case Scenario

ONE business day before he was supposed to leave for India, the Indian Consulate in Chicago denied Dave's employment visa, which means that as of right now he cannot go to India.  Apparently, it's a bureaucratic quirk of India's Chicago Consulate, that caught everyone (a number of people at Dave's company from Chicago to India, law firms, & third party visa service companies) by surprise.

This of course, really messes up our family summer plans.  The girls and I are only going to Thailand this year, at this time because it was financially and logistically convenient for Dave to meet up with us after his rotation in India. 

Now, after Dave has:
-spent countless hours filling out applications and working with lawyers to complete paperwork
-made plans and set goals for the work he was going to do in India
-gone to doctor appointments to get a number of innoculations for Typhoid, Yellow Fever, etc., plus get a month supply of Malaria pills and antibiotics
-made flight and hotel reservations
-bought and confirmed air tickets for his family to Thailand

He has to undo all that he can because India is now a no-go and no one can say for sure when he will be able to go.

This means that we now need to buy Dave a last minute airplane ticket to Thailand or else his family will be taking "a trip of a lifetime" without him.  I feel like someone just punched me in the stomach---and stole my wallet.