For CAD patients, finding joy in life’s journey is fundamental

It was totally dark, and I couldn’t remember where I was. I was nice and comfortable in this soft bed with its squishy pillows. I blinked my eyes and remembered: I was traveling back to the U.S. to see my dermatologist. I was in the Ambassador Hotel at Singapore’s Changi Airport at the start of a 20-hour layover.

The trip was precipitated by some well-meaning friends who were concerned about a cut on my nose. By the time they’d seen it, two months had passed since I’d injured myself. Their concern was heightened because the cut was in the same place as a precancerous lesion I’d had four years earlier.

What my friends didn’t understand was that I have cold agglutinin disease (CAD). People with CAD don’t recover quickly from injuries and infections. CAD is an autoimmune hemolytic disease that destroys red blood cells. Without a sufficient supply of these cells, nutrients are slow to reach an injury, thus slowing down the healing process.

My injury was healing, but it still looked bad. They bought me a plane ticket.

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Along the way

The novelist Louis L’Amour once said, “The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all that you are traveling for.” It was in this spirit that I explored Changi Airport.

Just one of the many floral displays found throughout Terminal 2 of the Changi Airport in Singapore. (Photo by Mary Lott)

Once I checked out of the hotel, I visited many of the displays and exhibits. One of my favorites was a combination display of stained glass and orchids. The light shining through the glass splashed jeweled colors on the orchids gathered within. One of the ways I keep my CAD under control is by practicing restful awareness. I spent several minutes seated within the display doing exactly that.

Walking slowly through the airport — with CAD I have no energy to do otherwise — I enjoyed hearing the cacophony of languages spoken by other travelers: Urdu, Hindi, Japanese, Malay, and English, though the accents of those speakers came from different parts of the globe. I was enveloped by a swirl of polyglottal noise.

I believe my favorite attraction was the Dreamscape garden, an aquarium of fish. It’s a jungle created from stony pillars and outcroppings upon which plants grow. A unique internal method of watering was developed so that visitors don’t get soaked, because the plants need lots of moisture.

But the fish are in a pond surrounding an island with paths throughout. Not only can the fish interact with humans who feed them, but also a thick acrylic surface was placed over the intersection of the paths so that people can walk above the fish as if we were in a lagoon with them.

The music of this display is a gentle, quiet melody that puts me in a mindset of being outdoors at the beginning of the day, just as animals begin their daily activities. Looking up, visitors see fish swimming toward the surface of the lagoon, a boat slowly being rowed, and beyond, in the sky, an occasional bird flying past. All is serene and beautiful. The designer told me they included over 35,000 different sounds of nature. He said they merged technology and nature to help visitors be less stressed in their travels.

Develop joy on the journey

I found this parade of pastel fish absolutely delightful. (Photo by Mary Lott)

It certainly worked for me. I’d begun my journey feeling — as I often had since the onset of CAD — that I was a victim of circumstances beyond my control. Spending time enjoying the flowers and fish in the airport, talking with one of the designers himself, and being surrounded by people from all over the world helped me be more at peace within myself.

It was in 2018 when I learned I had cold agglutinin disease. It’s changed my world in many ways and opened doors through which I wouldn’t have chosen to go myself. But since I’m on this path, I will explore the new things I encounter along the way. Changi Airport in Singapore was a positive experience.

Note: Cold Agglutinin Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Cold Agglutinin Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to cold agglutinin disease.