We were all set to get on a plane bound for India via Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago. It was our 3rd attempt. The 1st was on September 15th, 2001. The 2nd was last fall when an unexpected reloaction caused us to cancel. This time, Brigitte was sick with a flu-like illness. She gritted her teeth and was determined to make it regardless. 3 days before we were to leave, I started to come down with something similar. Yes, since you asked, both of us got flu shots this year. It came down to Sunday, 24 hours before the flight, our deadline for canceling the plane reservations without losing everything.
I eventually decided that I was too sick to fly and possibly endure being sick across 2 11 hour flights and 2 continents. At the time, it felt like a very tough decision since so much planning and effort had gone into the project. In retrospect however, it turned out to be the right choice. I got more sick in the following days and Brigitte didn’t exactly get better either. Imagine my surprise when a couple hours after canceling the flights I came across this article on CNN. Scary stuff.
Will we try again? Perhaps. I’ll let you know.