Life, death and an Aperol Spritz: my fight with brain cancer

Oct 23, 2026 – 5.00am A crowd of anxious passengers waited in long lines at the normally calm Zurich airport on Saturday, July 11. I was among them, apprehensive that I might actually miss my scheduled flight to Washington DC that afternoon. A new EU system of entry and exit requirements had created summer travel chaos.

Even Swiss organisational efficiency was failing. A stern airline official told me I was in the wrong line. I stepped a disconsolate few steps back.

That was the last I remember until I came to in an ambulance. To my astonishment, I was told I had collapsed with an epileptic seizure and was being rushed to the main hospital in Zurich. Swiss efficiency had returned.

Subscribe to gift this article Gift articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Subscribe now Already a subscriber? Jennifer Hewett Columnist Jennifer Hewett is The Australian Financial Review’s national affairs columnist.

She writes a daily column on politics, business and the economy. Fetching latest articles