The Longest Day of My Life

One year ago I went abroad for the first time in my life to visit my brother in Sweden.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions still being rather tight, the plane was mostly empty and I was able to take my nighttime medication and sleep almost the entire 8-hour flight. I didn’t have any jet lag on the flight there or back.

Unfortunately, this year was not nearly as comfortable.

An almost catastrophic time zone mixup

This year my partner was able to join me on the trip, and I was very much looking forward to having someone to sit with on the plane. My partner and I decided to drive the 4 hours to the airport the night before, get a hotel, and have a relaxing afternoon in Chicago without being rushed to board our flight. We booked the hotel and made plans to leave the following day.

What we didn’t realize was that because the airline we fly through is based in Sweden’s time zone, when we put the flight schedule on our calendars it showed it 6 hours ahead of when the flights were actually leaving. Thankfully, my parents (who were already in Sweden) called to ask when we were landing. They pointed out that our flight left the following afternoon, and if we got a hotel we would be a day late for our flight.

The plane was unexpectedly packed full

We quickly canceled our hotel and started packing. We were going to have to wake up fairly early in the morning to have time to make the 4-hour drive to Chicago and still get there 3 hours prior to our flight leaving. Through all the stress, we managed to get packed and go to bed before it was too late.

Everything was fine until we actually boarded the plane. For some reason, the flight was completely booked. Not a single seat was open on the plane, which I was not expecting since the plane was almost empty when I flew last year. I was in the center of a 4-seat row, and my seat was broken and unable to lean back.

I couldn't get comfortable, sleep, or take my narcolepsy medication

The 8-hour flight felt like a million years. I couldn’t get comfortable, and I wasn’t able to relax enough to doze off. Even though I brought my nighttime narcolepsy medication on the plane, I didn’t want to take it because we would be landing in Sweden at 10 AM.

The hours dragged on, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t relax. I ended up crying because I was so tired but wasn’t able to sleep.

I finally managed to sleep out of pure exhaustion

Once we landed in Sweden, we had a 1-hour flight and a 45-minute drive to get to the town my brother lives in. I was so sleep-deprived that I could barely think straight. My partner was guiding me through the airport as I was dragging my feet.

I finally managed to sleep out of pure exhaustion on the short flight, and once we made it to my brother’s house I slept for several hours.

I struggled to sleep even with medication

Unlike last year, I was so sleepy for the first few days I was there. The sun doesn’t set during summertime in northern Sweden. I struggled to fall asleep even with my medication and blackout curtains.

Although I did enjoy my time in Sweden, the stress of traveling has reminded me of how happy I am to be home.