This past week I was a bit nervous about flying on a commercial airline for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. I flew with my son Ethan to San Diego and then back home from Los Angeles with some of our friends as we followed our World Champion (had to get that in) Atlanta Braves cross-country. He and I went to Petco Park in San Diego for a game and then to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for 3 more games. We had a blast but on the return flight, I was made aware that masks were now optional on commercial airlines.
I believe the COVID numbers are such that it’s the right time to start doing things I was totally against during the pandemic. Public transportation is one of those things. I have been okay with masks being optional everywhere at this point and have even myself been willing to take off my mask recently and eat dinner indoors in the right setting (not a ton of people in the restaurant). To me, airlines being optional on mask-wearing is slightly worrisome. How clean is the air on planes? (nationalgeographic.com); however, I feel like if I wear my N95 mask then I’m as safe as I can be and I’m also putting other people at less risk should I unknowingly have the virus. My biggest concern is when someone on the plane is coughing frequently.
That was the case flying Delta on the way home. Ethan and I, who wore our masks the entire flight, kept looking at each other with a nervous smile as the gentleman one seat back kept coughing. I found the irony that I have cystic fibrosis and have often been the center of attention on flights where I’m coughing up a storm. Thanks to the CFTR modulator Trikafta which I started in November 2019, that rarely happens now. Of course when I was coughing back then, I wore a mask and we were not in the midst of a pandemic. While I don’t think mask-wearing should be mandated on an airline, shouldn’t people who are coughing the entire flight have to wear a mask to prevent germ-spreading? That’s a sticky one I suppose.
For the most part though, I felt comfortable. The guy who was sitting next to me did not wear a mask which I was a bit nervous about the first five minutes or so but then I just convinced myself that it was like times prior to the pandemic where I felt like the only one on the flight sporting a facial covering. I would say about 60% of the passengers on the plane had masks on.
I sat down, ate the snacks I was offered and watched a few movies. I told Ethan on this trip that I want him to be able to feel comfortable making decisions in situations whether to wear a mask or not and that me wearing a mask doesn’t mean he has to. The only times I asked that he wear a mask were in the airport, on the shuttle heading to the airport and on the flight and he understood. He has been extremely comfortable wearing a mask for someone his age. He doesn’t care how he is viewed by his peers which I find a bit remarkable since he is a teenager.
My nervousness on the flights did not have any effect on the amazing time I had with my son. We certainly bonded again watching our favorite sport and I loved watching him laugh and hang out with his friends. I know there is a lot of concern from those with chronic illness about traveling on public transportation with mask-optional guidelines. I certainly understand the predicament. Don’t go and you are putting yourself at less risk but you are also letting a virus limit you from living your life. Go and you’re able to live your life again but you’re putting yourself at obviously more risk.
My best advice is that if you don’t want to travel, that’s totally understandable. If it works for you then it shouldn’t matter what other people think. My thinking is just that I want to provide some sense of normalcy to my family and perhaps for me too. I don’t want this virus to limit me completely. I just have to make certain adjustments that will lessen the risk of catching germs while traveling. While I may be the center of attention at times when I’m the only one in the room wearing a mask, I can live with that bit of awkwardness knowing that I’m doing what feels right for me. Again, going out and living my life with added safeguards is not 100% foolproof that I won’t get COVID, but it’s a compromise I’ve made to live my life on my terms.
Looking forward to flying again with my family.
Stay safe out there.
Live your dreams and love your life,
Andy