The Longest Six Months

Okay, so I haven’t been a good blogger (if you can call me that) lately. I think it’s been more than a month since my last post? Not that I have anything particularly important to do (I mean, Pokemon Go and Snapchat are not important, right?), but there are so many things going on in my mind that I can’t begin to start writing about them.

A few months back, I had a bit of drama going on when I got sick with flu, and fainted in our living room. April was sound asleep that time, since it was about 3 in the morning, so nobody saw what happened to me. I woke up, lying on the floor, and afterwards was taken to the hospital.

If I were to give my own diagnosis, I’d say I fainted because of fatigue, high fever, and the fact that I was not eating anything except paracetamol for about 4 days straight. Unfortunately, I don’t have a PhD, so I’d have to believe the neurologist when he advised me to stop flying for six months. He said that that was the minimum time that I can be observed to make sure the fainting doesn’t happen again. I know he had my best interests at heart, but hearing him say that I will be grounded for half a year literally had me crying the whole night. I know it’s mababaw, but staying in Doha for six whole months?! Plus, I won’t be able to go home on days off (goodbye love life), and no layovers in my second home, London.

During the first month of my incarceration (yes, I am calling it that), I relished sleeping eight hours a day, eating proper meals at appropriate times, and basically having a routine that flight attendants are deprived of. Stay in bed all day, and watch TV shows while in my pajamas, aaaahh. There were days that I had to see the neuro, Dr. Nabil, for check-ups (and I am forced to take a shower, hahah!), but any other day, I was living the life! Good times.

This was the funniest part – after having continuously high levels of creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) in my blood test results, Dr. Nabil recommended that I stop any form of exercise. The best advice ever! Surprisingly, after a week of not going to the gym, my blood tests were finally normal. 🙂 Besides the concussion from hitting my head on the floor (and having headaches and dizziness once in a while), my heart and brain are awesome.

The months that followed were already becoming dragging, and slowly, I was feeling the weight of not getting my flying salary (ouch). I started working in the office on my second month on ground, and now that I am on my fifth month of jail time, time is again creeping up slowly. I guess I’m just looking forward for this to end. Well, I didn’t really stay in Doha the entire time. I would have died! Hahaha! Tumatakas ako once in a while – overnight in Manila, a couple of days in Phuket. I had to survive, right? 🙂

Now, I just came home from the hospital. I am doing the final leg of my medicals, and hopefully, will get clearance to fly next month. Inshallah! That’s Arabic for “God willing”. 🙂