Reflection

It's been ten years today since the Ordeal started. For those of you unaware of it, on March 12, 1997, I started feeling really bad driving to work, and by the time I got there, I was in serious pain. One of my cow orkers took me to the ER, and they couldn't find the problem, but had me visit my doctor the next day. That started a three and a half month long hospital stay. I had acute necrosing pancreatitis, something that is 100% fatal if untreated. I went through five surgeries in one week, spent 54 days in ICU, lost 87lbs, (I don't reccomend the diet plan) took 24 units of blood, (3 gallons) and spent 75 days NPO. I had to learn to walk again after it was all said and done, and it was a major turning point in my life that brought about many levels of change, including my divorce. It was also a defining moment for many of my friends and family, as there were two times in it when they were sure I was a goner.

It's interesting reflecting on all this, as my life is radically different now than it was then, and it make a really clear marker point in my past that allows me to reflect with acute clarity exactly where I was ten years ago.