By Corie Wild, EAA Lifetime 1468352
I’ve never had illusions of grandeur in my life, but I’ve also never expected to soar through the sky the way I am now. I am Corie Wild, 47, divorced, proud mother of an 11-year-old. My story begins at 17 being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. I know, a lot of people suffer from it, but mine is on the severe end of the spectrum and doctors could only medicate to control it for short periods of time. After several resections and installation of an ileostomy in 2017, I finally made the decision to make it permanent in February 2020.
Right as the world shut down for COVID, I was an inpatient at University of Chicago Hospitals and underwent a procedure that consisted of 13 hours under anesthesia, two surgeries, and two surgical teams. A few days later, I went home for an eight-week recovery that went relatively smoothly.
You have a lot of time to kill in recovery and there is only so much TV I can tolerate at any given time, so I decided to join Instagram. Instagram focuses mostly on photos, and you can follow subjects that interest you as well as people you know or celebrities you enjoy. Shortly after joining, I received several messages in my inbox with people that would like to chat. One in particular caught my eye.
He was a very handsome man, obviously much younger than me, but seemed interesting enough — but immediately I thought, “Why would THIS guy contact me, we have nothing in common?” He asked me about myself, so I told him the truth, “…. ok….I’m 44, been married for 18 years, and have an 8-year-old son… is this conversation over?” His response was quick, “No, I’m interested.” Let me say, while this made me smile, it was laughable to me because there is no way, if I was ACTUALLY talking with the man in the picture, that he would ever be interested in me, and was completely honest about my life situation knowing this. I am an educated woman, so when he told me he was “35, single, and a first officer with Delta based out of Miami,” (No, at the time I didn’t know Miami wasn’t a base for Delta), I knew he was full of it…. BUT I also thought, “Well this could be fun!”
For the next three months, I tried to trip him up. What I remembered about being single was that any potential girlfriend would be interested in their beau’s occupation, so I asked questions. A lot of questions! Along the way, I shared with him the deterioration of my marriage and he actually gave me ideas to try to help reconnect with my husband, and we developed a nice friendship aside from the fact I knew he was lying about his identity. As time progressed, the questions got more challenging — down to the specifics of flying an A320 and certifications and processes of becoming a pilot.
I became interested in the aviation industry and researched quite a bit — not just information to ask my would-be scammer, but also because I was quickly realizing that ironically, the very surgery from which I was recovering was also the answer to many roadblocks of hindered silent dreams.
My road to that surgery was paved in constant pain, and over a decade of prescription narcotics, survival day to day, relying on antidepressants so I could function in normal life. While I wasn’t actually depressed, they aided in quality of sleep to help me feel more rested, allowing me to function normally. I learned to cook because I couldn’t eat processed food, and I was good at it, but unfortunately, because of physical limitations of Crohn’s disease, I weighed in at 359 pounds. I was killing myself slowly. The 13-hour surgery not only saved my life but gave me a chance at having one. My internet scammer helped me realize what could be possible. As I researched, I learned that while there really isn’t a weight limit to become a pilot (some schools do have limits), there is a high standard of health. That day in February, the surgical team took away my pain.
They removed the need for narcotics. With no pain, there was no reason to be a couch potato, so I began to exercise. With the higher level of endorphins from the exercise, I was able to ween from anti-depressants.
Was I seriously considering becoming a pilot? Could I do it? Would I pass the medical exam? Am I too old to learn how to fly? I have always become a big kid in the airport. There are no bad days when you have airplanes around to look at and people traveling to faraway destinations — for me it is a dream. It is a dream that I was beginning to believe could come true. I recall peering into every cockpit of every airplane I’ve ever flown in and looking at all the switches, gauges, buttons, and lights wondering and hoping to learn what each and every one did. I was a broadcasting student in college the Christmas tree effect was always in full force each and every time whether entering a cockpit or sound studio!
I finally did find the real page of the person who owns the face in the photos. I took a screenshot and sent it to my scammer questioning him, “Now that you’ve introduced me to Yiannis, who is Greek, btw, tell me who you are.” His apology was profuse and immediate, and based on his location, I already knew his reasoning on why he did what he did. I told him he was a terrible scammer. His reply was, “Why say such things?” “Because you never asked me for anything.” He told me that if he is honest, he was enjoying the conversation. I admitted, I did too. He introduced himself, a name which I am unable to pronounce, but said I can call him “Henry.” He is 21 and lives in Abuja, Nigeria, and I can now call him my friend and am proud to do so. For his 22nd birthday, I sent him a Northern Illinois football jersey and believe he is one of the only gentlemen in Nigeria that represents our Huskies.
Since then, the tables have turned quite a bit. The conversations are far more interesting because I feel a part of his family — even having met his mom via video chat. I began taking flight lessons as I pursued my FAA medical certificate and discovered I have a profound love of aviation. I am interested in all of it — airplanes, helicopters, aerobatics, engines, propellers, maneuvers, and even though it is unnecessary at this point in my training, Skew-T Charts — you name it — if it is aviation, I am interested and am learning, even now at 47! Now when I tell Henry of my adventures, he asks me the aviation questions and I am the one with the answers, whereas he has never seen the beauty of our planet from the sky. I send him pictures when I have them of Chicagoland from the air so he can have just a taste of what he beautifully and unknowingly sold to me.
Achieving my medical has been an adventure all on its own. Being free of FAA-banned medications is of course mandatory, but also maintaining a consistent health regime to be able to stay healthy is a massive responsibility and priority for me. The requirements for a person like me, with the medical history the length of a multi-volume epitaph, is phenomenal. With patience, persistence, and a good attitude I was awarded my first class medical and was allowed to solo an airplane. It is special issuance, and I ridded the planet of a whole forest of trees with the amount of medical documents the FAA requested — 4.5 reams of paper printed two per page! With a few setbacks along the way and several different instructors, I am now on the precipice of a checkride, and while I am frightened, I am excited for the opportunities it will afford me to explore a world I missed out on for the majority of my life. I was too sick to live, and I have been given a second chance inspired by Henry, my very own internet scammer.
Moral for this saga — everyone and every circumstance has a reason to be in your life at the time they/it arrive, but it is your free will to accept or deny the challenge presented. I accepted and haven’t looked back. I have learned the only limitations we have in this lifetime are the limitations imposed upon us by ourselves. I wonder what I will achieve tomorrow? What will you achieve?