I’ll never forget my first panic attack.
I was on the plane coming back from my mother’s funeral. She had died suddenly and unexpectedly from a misdiagnosed heart issue.
Following my intuition, I had flown home to see her in the hospital even though her doctor said they only needed to adjust her heart medication. After all, she had just finished playing a round of golf when she collapsed on the floor at her home.
I was the one who was at home with my stepfather when we received the final call at 4:00 am.
I was the one who called my siblings to let them know what happened.
I was her only child at her bedside praying over her body after she had passed.
No one thought it was serious. Everyone thought she would be OK. None of my brothers and sisters were in town.
It was heartbreaking.
Traveling back to LA, I sat in a window seat, buckled up and was ready to go. It was a full flight. Once the plane started to taxi, my heart began pounding rapidly, my hands were sweating, and I couldn’t catch my breath. I unbuckled my seatbelt, stood up and waved for the stewardess to ask if someone could trade seats with me.
I got another seat. The stewardess lectured me sternly, “Next time you need to select an aisle seat ahead of time so as not to delay the flight.”
I looked at her and said, “This is the first time this has ever happened to me. I’m just coming from my mothers funeral.”
You can prepare yourself for the eventuality of having a panic attack, especially if you’ve had one before.Now I always seat in an aisle seat.
Keeping the faith (in you),
Marlu