Elvis,
Back in 2010 I saw the capt. in question in NRT. Having flown with him back on the 727 I had followed his story/recovery via the wailing wall in MSP checkin. Anyhow, over many, many beers he gave me the whole story. Absolutly amazing and damn lucky. Because of him a year later I had the identical initial symptoms (which I never would have gone to the Dr. for ) I decided to go and get it checked out. Luckily for me there was no problem.
Originally Posted by
Elvis90
I recently flew with a captain who was diagnosed with cancer back in 2007 and given 6 months to live back then. His wife got him to go to the Mayo Clinic for experimental surgery. It was very painful, but he is cancer-free this day. The reason I mention this is that the FAA permanently removed his medical, but following the successful recovery after 18 months, ALPA successfully lobbied the FAA to reinstate his medical. I am no ALPA apologist, and this captain is not happy with many things ALPA does, but he stated that were it not for ALPA, he would not be flying today.
BTW, this captain never has a bad day, because each day is like a gift, and he'll tell you that. Really enjoyed flying with him.