Ok, well actually two nights. Still way too short, but time is of the essence since stopping systemic chemotherapy. I am on my way to Europe for some cutting edge cancer treatments mostly in Germany and after my last flight experience, breaking up the trip with a stop over in Bangkok seemed like a good idea.
I still have bad memories of my last intercontinental flight seven months ago, returning from a US business trip. It was a long and complicated flight, LA-Tokyo-Bangkok-Singapore-Melbourne.
This was just before I knew that I had stage 4 colorectal cancer, but I was already suffering from liver failure and feeling very ill. During the third leg of my flight from Bangkok to Singapore things got so bad I could hardly walk off the plane and ended up crashing at an airport hotel in Singapore. Six hours spent mostly on the shower floor combined with a pack of motion sickness tabs bought at the airport pharmacy allowed me to recover enough to continue. Still, it was an absolute horror flight. At that time I believed I caught some gastro bug or stomach flu. (I wish)
My current trip to Germany started off badly. I felt very sick in the morning of the flight and nausea made a comeback for the first time since my fast. Maybe the stress, the running around, last minute packing etc. The memories of my last flight replayed in my head, but it was too late to turn back now. I took some steroids, the first anti nausea medication I have taken in five months, but this did nothing. In the afternoon, two hours into the flight, the nausea finally passed and I was even able to stomach the airline food. I breathed a sigh of relief and landed in Bangkok feeling well.
Thailand is great and although I am just staying at the airport hotel, I wish I could stay longer. Luckily my nausea did not return and I had fabulous two days. Gym, qigong, meditation a massage at the hotel spa and of course great thai food I love so much were on the daily menu. Overall a very relaxing two days. (I so needed this.) I fly out later today and as soon as I land in Europe, the serious work begins. My first treatment starts in Prague, 2 hours after I get off the plane, then off to Germany a week later. Like I said, no time to waste.
