Six Months On.

“Gee, that time’s gone quickly”.

This is the most common response when I tell people that six months has passed since my surgery. For the most part, I agree. However, in the early stages of recovery there were days that seemed to last a year.

As a lover of history, I have always believed that it’s wise to consider the past before taking any major leaps forward. This philosophy has been pivotal following surgery as it has allowed me to focus on the present and not “get ahead” of myself. And when progress seemed frustratingly slow, I would reflect on my state of health a week or month before.

The goal has always been to return to flying but that process can only just begin at this time. It was important to have a target to keep moving forward in a broad sense but impatience would definitely have been to my detriment. Similarly, I have been careful not to be entirely seduced by the lure of the sky. It is not a foregone conclusion that I will return to the flight deck and the degree of possible disappointment is directly related to the level of emotional investment.

Consequently, I have made the most of every opportunity and task that has been presented to me. I have pursued ground roles with the airline and worked on my manuscripts as they move towards publication. And of course, writing these posts, that have been both cathartic and a means of focus on the task at hand.

So I am six months down the road with the task of satisfying the powers that be that I am fit to fly. To date, the medical professionals have been suitably impressed, although my running shoes less so, as they show severe wear as testimony for the hundreds of kilometres of walking they have endured.

The recovery has been a challenge and I can’t say that it’s passed quickly. However, as I look in the mirror and recall that six months ago I wasn’t even allowed to stand as a tangle of tubes and wires wrapped my body, I can appreciate the progress. Fortunately, my recovery has seemingly gone very well, for everyone I meet comments as such. Well, they say that and, “Gee, that time’s gone quickly”.

(Thanks to everyone for their ongoing kind messages of support 👍🏻)