CALAVERAS COUNTY, Calif. (KOVR) – Facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, a former flight attendant knows she doesn’t have long, but that didn’t stop her from taking to the skies one last time.
Back in 1971, Janet McAnnally was 26 and a flight attendant for Trans World Airlines, a career born from a simple childhood dream to see the world.
“I opened the cover of my fourth grade geography book, and there was a black and white picture of the Sphinx and the pyramids. I thought, ‘I want to see the world.’ That became my obsession,” McAnnally said.
She fulfilled that dream before settling down and eventually landing in Calaveras County, California.
As time ticked on, McAnnally was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that spread to her spine. She recently stopped her cancer treatments in favor of truly living the time she has left.
“I know it’s going to end, so I’ve accepted that. I’m not fighting against it,” she said. “I’ve had a lovely life. So, I think once I made that decision to stop the treatments, and the physicalness of stopping made my life so much more – able to enjoy it and do things and not just sit huddled in a chair all day.”
McAnnally, now 79, is in the care of Hospice of Amador and Calaveras, receiving pain management and other services in the comfort of her home. Under its Last Wish Program, the hospice center reached out to United Airlines pilot Rob Davids to help fulfill McAnnally’s wish for one final flight.
“I just felt lucky to be a part of it and give her that chance,” Davids said.
During the hour-long flight high above Calaveras County, McAnnally even got to pilot a plane herself for the first time. Davids surprised her with a flight log book, commemorating the moment.
“I think I was more excited than emotional about it until when it was done and I realized what we had just done,” McAnnally said. “The land just looked beautiful. All the sudden, the moon began to come up, and that got me a little emotional.”
If there is a takeaway in this takeoff, it’s that being at the end of life’s runway could just be the start of a new journey.
“There’s no point, even if it’s only a month or two left, to sit around and do nothing or to just moan and cry over it. Better to cry happy tears and enjoy as much as you can,” McAnnally said.
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