The Rerouted Skytress

A few weeks ago I went to my annual FAA re-qualification training in Atlanta. I spent the morning conducting 15 emergency evacuations on our numerous aircraft. I followed this fun-filled stress session with a hands-on life-saving medical class. Then we practiced subduing and handcuffing unsavory passengers. I’ll admit. This was more fun than stressful. In the afternoon session we were evaluated on how we managed a series of events that randomly occur on the aircraft. To help make things more stressful…I mean more fun….we were randomly picked for each event…and we didn’t know our event until it magically happened. Yippee!?! My event was a decompression during flight. Yessiree. My crew and I were in the aircraft mock-up pretending to serve our passengers when the oxygen masks dropped from the passenger service units. Heck. I couldn’t grab that oxygen mask fast enough and strap myself in an empty passenger seat. My crew and I shouted our commands for the passengers to do the same. “Grab a mask! Sit down. Stay calm!” We responded amazingly after the decompression, too. Yessiree. It was an Oscar worthy performance. Better yet, we passed our emergency scenario on the first attempt. Guess after 34 years on the airplane and a zillion safety videos under my belt, I definitely have mastered “ place your oxygen mask on yourself first before helping others”. Unfortunately off the airplane, I’m more of a, “do as I say, not as I do” kind of gal. I’ll put everyone else’s needs ahead of my own. Yep. I help put their oxygen masks on long before I ever think about putting my own oxygen mask on. I was gently reminded of this fact a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I experienced a medical hiccup with my health. My doctor calmly explained what steps I needed to take to correct my health situation. Yes he was calm. I was not. Mentally I was shouting at myself. “Grab a mask”. So, I did just that. I donned my own oxygen mask. Funny, I have been breathing much better ever since.

My medical hiccup started with my much anticipated bunion surgery. This surgery has been years in the making folks. Yessiree. My beautiful young Skytress feet fell victim to the old Skytress shoe requirement of high heels being worn at all times while in uniform, except for when we were actively in flight. It didn’t matter that I changed into my onboard flats more times than Mr. Roger could ever imagine humanly possible. No siree. My beautiful Skytress feet were no match for my uncomfortable pointy-toed Skytress high heels. Talk about the agony of defeat. Or should I say the agony of de-feet. My now ugly, painful bunion feet are a podiatrist’s dream. Most Skytress’ and Skyter’s feet are. Bad bunion feet is the stinky secret of our profession. Well, unless of course you know a Skytress or Skyter. We are constantly complaining about our feet…..and forever talking about needing foot surgery. So, I finally decided it was time to stop talking and….uh…put my foot down…wink, wink…and schedule my bunion surgery. I’ll admit. My foot doctor was very curious as to which foot I would choose to operate on first. Luckily for me, both feet are prime bunion surgery candidates. I decided to put my best… or rather…worst foot forward for the first bunion surgery. And that would be my right foot for all you curious foot doctors and blog readers.

My foot doctor sent me home with a medical form for my primary physician to fill out. I adore my primary physician. I was feeling great when I got to my doctor’s office. So, when his nurse said my blood pressure was high I thought it was a faulty blood pressure machine. So, did the nurse. So, she switched to the manual blood pressure cuff. My blood pressure was still very high. When my doctor came in the room he was aware of my blood pressure reading. He told me to imagine I was on a beach somewhere and he would take it again. Apparently I imagined I was on a beach in the middle of a nasty hurricane. My blood pressure was still high. My doctor listened to my heart. He said my heart sounded good. This made me feel much better since my primary physician is also a cardiologist. However, this feeling was short lived. My doctor told me he was sorry, but, he couldn’t sign off on my foot surgery. Instead he was going to put me on blood pressure medication. The he said I would need to come back in two weeks to see him. Egads. I made my appointment for the day after my annual FAA training. I figured my blood pressure would be back to normal by then. I knew, without a doubt, my doctor would sign my bunion surgery paperwork at my next appointment. However, since I only had two weeks to get my blood pressure down, I decided it would be advantageous for me to keep breathing through my oxygen mask.

Incredibly, after my first dose of medication I could tell a difference. My chest didn’t feel as tight. I was startled by how accustomed I had become to the dull pressure on my chest. Although I knew the medicine was working, I vowed I was going to make positive changes to get my blood pressure down and get off the medication. I’ll admit. I loathe being on any medication. Especially, blood pressure medication. In essence, The Rerouted Skytress needed a lifestyle reroute. It’s obvious I have to get my weight in check. Sadly, I have regained all the weight I lost the year before. Dang stress eating. The worst part is… I knew I was stress eating every time I reached for the food. Egads! It’s obvious I have to get more sleep, too. I know I am easily losing two days of sleep a week because of my flying and commuting schedule. I’m also very aware I’m staying up much too late writing my blog. Good golly. I can’t help that my best writing happens in the wee hours of the night. I know my blog is going to take a major blow with my new lifestyle changes. But, a gal has to do what a gal has to do to get her blood pressure down. I’ve also decided Facebook is going to take a backseat for a while…like the third-row backseat. Yessiree. I can mindlessly whittle away precious time on this site. My radical lifestyle change is that I’m striving to turn off all my electronic devices before 10pm…..or at least eight hours before my pickup time if I am on a trip. So, goodbye late night YouTube and Netflix marathon watching. Whew wee! Good thing I have my oxygen mask on. These changes can take one’s breath away.

As you know, change doesn’t happen over night. When I went back to my primary physician after two weeks, my blood pressure was even higher. I’m positive the stress from my FAA re-qualification training was still swirling through my blood from the day before. Anyhow, my doctor tweaked my medication and told me to come back in two weeks. Yippee!?! The next day I was in the crew lounge. Myself and my commuter friends were all gathered in a circle chitchatting. I told them my bunion surgery was now on pause since my hypertension needed to be addressed first. Now, I’ve always said if you can take one thing to a deserted island, take a Skytress or Skyter. They have everything you would ever need to survive. When I told my Skytress and Skyter friends I had gone on blood pressure medication they started pulling things out of their flight bags. These items were things they take daily for good blood pressure maintenance. I was gobsmacked. Which I know I shouldn’t have been. Considering my deserted island comment. I knew from talking to my friends they put their oxygen masks on themselves first whether it’s on the airplane or just in life. My friends were a wealth of information….and inspiration. I took screenshots and wrote down notes. Then I went on Amazon and purchased a few things. When I got home from my trip I started taking super beets and pineapple sea moss. I’ll admit. They sound disgusting. But, they are actually quite pleasant tasting….just like my friends promised me they would be. I have no proof that they helped lower my blood pressure. Heck. It could have been the combination of these items along with my medication. Oh, and the fact I went on vacation. But, low and behold my blood pressure was lower when I went back to see my doctor. He actually told me I was a very interesting person. Of course, I am! But, he meant my heart consistently skips one beat after a few regular beats. My doctor showed me my EKG and explained everything to me. He was fascinated. I was fascinated, too. I told my doctor that sometimes at night when I am lying in bed, I feel like the cogs aren’t perfectly matching up on my heart machinery. Now, I know why. I’ll admit. My heart did skip a happy beat when my doctor finally signed my bunion surgery paperwork. I breathed a sigh of relief through my oxygen mask, too.

I’ll admit. Donning my own oxygen mask in my everyday life has taken some getting used to. After all, I’m used to multitasking,….while I’m multitasking. However, I’m forcing myself to slow down these days. Heck. I’ve even taken a few naps. I never made time for naps. My friend, Kristin, who I went through Skytress training with, told me she heard that each year of flying is like putting your body through childbirth. I had never heard this before. But, it definitely made me laugh. And laughter is great for lowering your blood pressure. This I do know! I also know my bunion surgery is now scheduled for March 13th. Yippee! I can’t wait. I especially can’t wait to see my doctor and anesthesiologist reactions when I arrive at the surgery center. Yessiree. I will already have donned my oxygen mask and will be breathing easy.