Frequent traveller takes to air again

Landmarks in recovery

It is a landmark day for me, as this is my first journey out of the Netherlands by air since before I was hospitalised and diagnosed with cancer last year.

In many ways, I see the ability to do some of the things I once was unable to do for sickness and the lack of means as part of the recovery process.

It is not full by any means, it is a gradual process and in some ways miraculous if I were to echo the words of my doctor who thought when he saw me last month that the state of my recovery was well beyond what they had ever expected for the duration in which I had been monitored.

The other day, when I said to my colleagues that I was born at 26 weeks, one of them said he saw a fighting spirit for survival in me that he had noticed in a niece of his who was also prematurely born.

Now, I do not know if there is any correlation but somehow you just believe you either would get out of it good or succumb, though the idea of succumbing is never given the space to take root.

Between priorities and perks

Having checked in my baggage, I went to the Privium Plus lounge which is a service for frequent travellers that allows for unencumbered access through airport and checking in facilities as well as iris scanning facilities for border controls.

I remember well that I was just about to be admitted in hospital the renewal notice came for my Privium Plus membership and basically, I ignored it. I just could not be bothered with frequent travel and the perks that it entailed; I was fighting for my life.

Then a few months after, a debt collector’s agency sent the first threatening letter and I wrote to both Privium Plus and the debt collector that this matter was just too far from my top priority of getting well and getting up with the sub-tone of telling them to do their worst – on the scale of recovery priority issues membership advantage subscriptions do not feature.

Eventually, I contacted the people and offered to come to some arrangement on paying off the debts which I eventually did within a month of agreement.

It has been a journey and as I plan to go by the iris scanning system in a few minutes, one just wonders if I would be recognised or some assistance would be needed – maybe chemotherapy could change the so unique identification that the iris represents – we’ll see.

Let us be thankful that the once frequent traveller is starting to travel again.