Grounded

Welcome to a miniseries entitled "Grounded". This is the first installment in a two part series.

As pilots, we must maintain a certain level of health and fitness. I use these terms somewhat loosely, because really all we do is sit still, and many captains I have flown with haven't put the running shoes on in quite some time. Really, no one wants us dropping dead while on final approach in a snowstorm. We certify our fitness through the FAA Medical; we take a physical assessment each year with a designated Aeromedical Examiner (AME). It was my turn to renew mine a couple of weeks ago. Since I turned 35 last year, I would be required to take an ECG - no big deal, and I was more worked up about the eye test for no reason other than it is something to get worked up about. When it was time for the ECG, the nurse fumbled through hooking me up, then fumbled through running the test (I guess they don't do them that often). After the machine spit out the results, she took them to the doctor, them came back and ran it again (without adjusting anything, mind you). She took the new results to the doctor, and then said he'd be in to talk to me. Now I was starting to get worked up about the ECG. When the doctor came in, he said the test indicated a "possible circulation problem around the bottom of [my] heart". Okay, that got my attention. Needless to say, I didn't get my medical.

I got right on the phone and called the chief pilot's office and let them know that I was grounded because, after all, I was on reserve that day. My next call was to the union. Now, I haven't really formed my opinion on unions yet, and I can't say that I'm for or against them as I've never been affiliated with one in 10 years of working. Today, I was definitely for them. The union rep put me in touch with the aeromedical office, and they gave me the "gameplan" for what I'd have to do to get my medical, including a visit to the cardiologist for additional testing. Now it was time for some Googling. At the top of the ECG printout was my diagnosis, which was a possible 1st degree AV block. Come to find out, this is quite normal and common in athletes and people of above average health (let's face it, I'm not going to the Olympics any time soon, but I eat right and am in the gym 5-6 days per week). Now I'm shifting from shock and worry to pure anger. This is confirmed by the ALPA aeromedical doctor, who informed me that it is normal, and the AME should have simply held my medical for further testing if he wasn't comfortable just giving it to me.

Well, to wrap up, further testing at the cardiologist turned up a very healthy heart. I maxed out the stress test at 99% of my maximum heart rate, and additional resting ECGs only turned up an early repolarization which, you guessed it, is quite common in young healthy people.

So, now I wait....and wait....and wait.....and wait...for the FAA - a government agency - to give me back what was so hastily taken from me.

The moral of the story is this: there is a wealth of information out there at your fingertips, and medicine is becoming more and more of a team effort. The doctor is the educated authority, but only one of you knows what is going on with your body. If in doubt, question authority!