Tayi Week 2 - Motion Sickness

For as long as I can remember, I have always had a problem with motion sickness. Hour-long drives was all it took to produce a large mess in the back of the car. Cleaning the mess was my parent’s job - I was just sitting there in shock getting wiped down by paper towels. At the age of eight, my family and I went on a road trip for a family gathering. This was a six-hour drive. It seemed like I threw up every hour. Well, in actuality, I did. In hourly intervals. The only reason I remember this is because my family constantly reminds me every time I enter the car. Over time, I got better at my timing and desperately reached for a bag before I vomited. By the time I was eleven years old, I was able to control myself up to about six hours.

Don’t even get me started with airplanes. The 90,000 pounds of metal that ascend into the air to take us anywhere in the world, especially since my family travels very often. Every year I seem to be flying off to some new place, unfamiliar and unbeknownst to me every time. I have been to about 20 different countries, some of which we’ve visited on numerous occasions. As a result, I have been on about 50+ flights.

The earliest flight I can remember was when I was about six and we were going to California which is only a five-hour trip. I was very worried about that flight. At the time I was very aware of my motion sickness problem, but my parents felt I was overreacting. I insisted we did not go on the flight but obviously, I would not get my way. After we had boarded the plane, I sat there trying my best to convince myself that this would be just like a car. However, as the plane rose, my ears were in unbearable pain. The pressure as the plane gained altitude made me feel like my head was going to burst. I felt the fluids mounting in my stomach, which was never a good sign. I tried to make a run for the bathroom, but the small “fasten your seatbelt sign” was glowing so I abruptly sat back down in my seat. I ended up vomiting all over the seat in front of me.

After the plane incident, I learned to mitigate my motion sickness issue. I developed a plan so I can distract myself throughout the long rides. However, to this day, I remember all of the times where I fought the urge to ruin the long car rides for my family.