Alive And....Well...

The big wake-up call happened in my 51st year on the last day of March. I went into the hospital for what was billed as laparoscopic intestinal resection. In other words, the doctor was going to remove a portion of my colon (which had perforated) and I'd be free of the pain that had been plaguing me for several months. The surgery seemed to have been successful. A few incisions in my abdominal area and a good dose of morphine for a few days post-surgery and I'd be headed back to work in no time.

That changed on the 6th of April when I lost consciousness and was diagnosed with sepsis and renal failure. I had a major infection. I was rushed in for emergency surgery and was cut from stem to sternum. I wasn't aware of it at the time but my rib cage was opened like an actual cage as they flushed my body with whatever was needed to heal me. When I woke from this procedure, the pain was unbearable and I began a very long road to recovery. But I was lucky to be alive. During the course of my hospital stay, I learned that actress Patty Duke had died of the very thing that happened to me. In other words, I could have died. But I didn't. I'm still recovering and I've got many scars to prove it. I'm thankful for another shot at life. Writing is going to help me to heal.

I'm sure of it.

(Actress Patty Duke: December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016}