I was recently on an
airplane flight en route to Alaska, returning from a vacation in Texas
and New Mexico, when something very surprising happened. The time was
about 11:00 pm and I was sporting a pair of noise-canceling ear
phones, an eye mask, and a memory-foam neck cushion. Nudged
comfortably into my window seat, I had been sleeping peacefully for
about two hours. Suddenly, out of that calm, tranquil sleep, I awoke
feeling incredibly nauseous. Not just typically nauseous but
alarmingly, crazily, wildly nauseous.
Pulling off
the eye mask, I told my daughter, who was watching a film in the seat
next to me, that I didn’t feel well. She woke my husband, who asked
if I was okay. The last thing I said was, “No, not really…”
When I next
opened my eyes, it was to a crowd of worried-looking faces. Someone
was pushing on my chest and calling to me, as if from far away. For a
moment, I saw a veil of black, then the faces, then another veil of
black and then the faces once again.
A few seconds
later I felt a rubber oxygen mask around my mouth and heard
instructions to breathe deep. Doing so, I felt more alert. The woman
compressing my chest was a Nurse Practitioner who had been sitting
nearby. She had the stewardess bring me some water and, a few minutes
later, some caffeinated cola. Less than 30 minutes later, oxygen mask
removed, I felt perfectly fine, as if the event had never happened at
all.
The ever
anxious glances from my daughter and husband, however, reminded me
that this did happen. They reported that soon after I had awoken and
complained of nausea, my face went blank and became very white. My
eyes were open wide, staring off into space as if “no one was
home,” and I was unresponsive to their questions.
What I really
wanted to do was sleep for the remainder of the flight, but my husband
kept me awake. Two hours later, on landing, a group of Anchorage
paramedics met us at the plane door. Though I felt fine, I understood
that we’d be going through the emergency ritual. In truth, I felt a
welling of deep appreciation for the dedication of these young men
being present at such an hour to help others in distress.
In the
ambulance on the runway, two polite EMTs did a 12-line heart test and
reported that my heart rate looked “textbook normal.” Even though
I looked fine and there was no other indication of any distress, they
recommended a trip to the Emergency Room. But at 1:30 in the morning,
having spent the past eight nights in hotel beds, the last thing I
wanted was a hospital bed or a battery of tests. All I really wanted
was to see my dogs and crawl into my own wonderfully comfy bed.
It’s an
interesting situation to observe the dome of fear around others in the
wake of an emergency situation. This is not to imply I was without
fear, though throughout the incident I had the innate sense that I
would be fine. I have had this same sense on other occasions in my
life when events on the surface appeared to be life-threatening.
On returning
home, I slept soundly for 8 hours and felt refreshed on waking. Later
that day I called various medical people to get opinions, insights and
suggestions. I scheduled an appointment with a highly recommended
physician and, in preparation for that, wrote up the details of the
entire event along with anything that I thought might be remotely
related.
Symptoms are
our body’s way of inviting us into deeper communication and
conversation. The responsibility on our part is to listen—a simple
yet powerful recommendation, though how many of us really take the
time? I knew I didn’t always. Thus, another priority was to spend
some quality quiet time inviting my body and spirit guides to comment
about what had happened on the airplane.
In the end, I
received a lot of good advice—not only from my doctor and via blood
tests, but from my inner guides as well. Some of what these guides
related was personal information, but much applies to humanity at
large. At this time in earth’s evolution we are all undergoing
massive shifts in consciousness. And this affects us on all levels of
our being—from the soul all the way to the cellular, and beyond.
Everything is affected—our thoughts, our emotions, our physical
bodies, our personalities, our relationships—everything.
As my
guides described it to me, “Imagine
a number of forces of energy exerting movement or pressure upon a
central axis of You. The desired outcome is a kind of balance, though
at times smaller ‘individual’ aspects of energy confront one
another. Where there are knots or holds of energy there is
confrontation of the energetic sort. So, a twist occurs that may pull
on the whole of the overall energy, creating a kind of drag or
conspired twirl of energy. This may ‘shut down’ part of your
physical body for a brief period of time.
“Our
suggestions are to check in more often than you are used to in
allowing all aspects of you to share input and offer a quick
‘who’s where’ in consciousness. The more you do this, the more
seamless is your transition and the better focused the circuitry of
communication throughout your being. In short, the more simple,
elegant and shining the presence of You in the world.
“This
is a key and crucial time for many in the world. Remember to release
the old and unneeded, the toxic waste from your body and being. Human
growth is an ongoing mystery in the making. The mystery grows not by
shadow or obscurity or ‘not’ knowing, but by following your own
clues, by being open to new awareness within and without, and by
sharing your discoveries with others, just as others share with you.
More and more the world is permeable—inner and outer, me and you, us
and them… Borders are dissolving even as we speak.”
Personally, I
found this input to be very helpful—and to coincide with the
doctor’s medical diagnosis. Throughout all my talks about the
incident with a wide range of individuals—nurses, doctors,
specialists and family—I felt myself led by an ever deepening sense
of intuition awakening throughout my body. I felt the lessening of
fear and the increased joy of trust—for myself, the events in my
life, the interconnected web of all beings, and our communal
evolution.
As my
guides noted, “Fear
is a great and awesome teacher, though there is no need to go into
fears that do not affect you. Indeed, all are well advised to release
the mass fears that keep one stuck in the group hold of dementia and
limited visions/versions of consciousness and presence in the world.
“Allow
yourself some time each day to follow your inner guides and feel your
body more fully and wholly. It is one of your greatest teachers and
has all the clues necessary to help you on your way. Thank and praise
the body for its extreme intelligence as it helps you to become more
of who you fully and truly are.”
That is great
advice for us all, of course, and normally I would stop this
incredibly long Editor’s Notes here. However, there is one last
thing I would like to share with you, especially since so many of us
travel via airplanes both within and outside Alaska. It is not
intended to stir worry or fear, but rather to highlight certain
information as a heads-up for the next time you fly.
One of the
possible causes I researched for what might have happened to me is a
condition called Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). DVT is basically a blood
clot that forms deep within one of the veins of the leg. The clot may
then break away and travel to the lung, where it can cause some major
problems, even leading to death. What surprised me about DVT is that
although it can be caused by many different things, it has been
linked—very closely—to air travel. Further, many people show no
symptoms of DVT while it happens and may not be affected by the
movement of a clot until a week or two after their flight.
Although there
are not many in-depth studies, a 2001 analysis by The Lancet estimated that
1 million cases of DVT related to air travel occur in the United
States each year, and that 100,000 of these cases result in death.
Other estimates indicate that DVT affects 2 people in every thousand.
Several researchers point out the surprising detail that air travelers
are more likely to die of a DVT-related incident than in an airline
crash.
One of the big
problems with blood clots, especially in travelers, is that you often
don’t know you have one until it is too late. Researchers have found
that 94% of all blood clots are “silent and symptomless.” For this
reason, one doctor refers to DVT as the Stealth Disease since symptoms
often don’t show up for a few days or more after the flight. One
researcher found such symptom-free blood clots in 10% of air
travelers.
The good news
is that being aware of DVT, especially in relation to airline travel,
can help us to prevent it. These easy measures include the following
while flying:
