Traveling by plane for the first time since the pandemic hit was like a dystopian dream. The virus is everywhere but not everyone feels the same way about its presence or the consequences to their life. There are people in N95 masks wiping down every surface, avoiding everything that can be avoided. Others including me stayed masked because we were required to but did not go overboard. I did not see any blatant non-compliance. Sleeping on a trans-Atlantic flight has always been a hit or miss for me but with the mask it became hellishly difficult. Many time I woke up breathless and each of those times, I asked myself if anyone had the right to request another person to make such a trip without an emergency. In my case we were traveling to spend a few days with J and explore a country we had not seen much of.
I was doing this of my own volition and yet this felt like so much effort. It made me think of articles I have read written by doctors who have been masked up way worse and working nearly non-stop for over a year and feeling completely worn out. I had some theoretical understanding of what all that meant but just a few hours of trying to sleep while masked and not having the choice to remove it brought those accounts way closer home. One has to walk even a small distance in another's shoes to know where it pinches. The whole experience left me feel blue until I landed, got into our rental car and could breathe free. Those doctors don't quite have that right and they can't just up and leave.
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