And so it begins.

Today is quite an important anniversary for me. On the face of it not immediately linked to flying but in actual fact inexorably intertwined with the whole deal.
One year ago today I was in hospital having fairly major abdominal surgery. I mention this, not because I want sympathy, actually the complete opposite. It was the best thing I ever had done and has allowed me to start what feels like a completely new life.

I’d been feeling crappy for a while, although I didn’t realise just how crappy and after faffing around with various tests, treatments and other medical interventions which didn’t leave me with any answers* or feeling any better. I opted for what I call “the engineer’s solution.” It goes something like this:

Do I need the organ in question?

No.

Will my symptoms stop if I have it removed?

Yes.

Then book me in for surgery!

None of this messing around with, “well we could try X drug and some people have had an improvement if they try Y.” Nope, I was fed up and wanted rid.

Modern surgical techniques are astounding. No question. I don’t ever recall feeling “in pain” sure I was uncomfortable for a while but never really in pain. I stopped with the prescription painkillers after 2 days (this may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that you couldn’t drink while taking them!) The tiny scars are all but invisible now. Even after a relatively short time they were hard to find. We had to go hunting for them at my aviation medical!

I consider myself fortunate to live in a country that has such amazing healthcare. I didn’t consider the waiting time to be too excessive (I’m a realist; I wasn’t suffering from anything life threateningly urgent). I had a great surgeon, with fantastic continuity of care. All of this and not a cent out of pocket from me**, not because I’m rich or because I have great insurance but because that’s the way things work here.

The road to recovery was probably longer than I would have liked, but I was aware that I only had one chance to do this properly. Doing something stupid would probably cause permanent damage. Again I was lucky when work didn’t bat an eyelid at the 5 and a bit weeks I eventually ended up taking off. Probably in part because I left detailed plans of what needed to be done and when. End upon end of bullet-pointed instructions and timelines. I also insisted on a handover training period for the temp. It went as well as could be expected and no one held it against me that the temp they hired turned out to be a complete and utter psychopath***!

There were a few hurdles along the way, sheer boredom being one of them. When I eventually got mobile I did some stupid things inadvertently like pushing through the turnstile at a subway station with my stomach first! OUCH!!! Even a few months later my lack of stomach muscles gave me issues. Pushing the plane back into a parking spot left me feeling it for days and there was just no way I was going to be able to twist enough to get up onto the wings for my preflight****.

As an aside I'm eternally grateful for living in a city like Toronto where no one bats an eyelid if you wander round the city during the day time in your PJs!

So what does this all have to do with flying? Well it’s hard to explain but within a very short space of time it became clear to me that I’d got more energy than I’d had in years and quite frankly it felt like a massive weight had been lifted from me. I was never going to have to worry about certain things ever again. When you’ve gone through medical stuff that involves biopsies and waiting weeks for results, you start to look at things very differently, no matter what the eventual outcome is. Some of it is physical; a lot of it is psychological.

I wanted to do something, anything with my “new life”. I wasn’t tired anymore. I didn’t want to be afraid anymore. Fear of flying had the potential to hold me and RTH back from our travel plans. It was time to do something about it. I’d never let my fear stop me from travelling, but quite frankly I was sick of feeling that way every time I got on a plane. RTH was working on his PPL. I wanted to fly with him. Something had to change.

I’ve never been one for small gestures. Go big or go home. So I started on the biggest adventure of my life. I’ve never regretted it for a second!

 * even after the surgery, I still don’t have a definitive diagnosis, but the op has worked!

 ** Yes I’m aware of how healthcare is actually funded and that I do pay for it, albeit indirectly. I have no problem with this when you look at the alternatives.

 *** Serious nutjob, but I think it made them appreciate me even more, so I’m not complaining!

**** Still prefer not to!