My Second Half

My Second Half

Is that a strange name for a blog? Well, this is my first time, really, so bear with me. I've just had an experience that needs to be shared, or at least I need to write about it. Whether anyone else is interested, well.... let's just see how it goes.

I almost died. It happened in early March 2010. I had H1N1, Type A, the strain that kills folks. It has killed little kids and teenagers and active 25 year olds. But I lived. I survived. And I have to tell you that it has changed me. I hope for the better, but change nonetheless.

Of course I don't remember much about it. I remember getting what I thought was the flu or some other upper respiratory gunk thing. I called the doctor. I stayed home and drank tea. And then one evening, I felt the energy drain from my body like gas being syphoned from a car. I live alone. I am a half hour from the closest hospital. I was scared. So I called 911. I was taken to the ER at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Indiana and that is that last thing I remember until I woke up two weeks. later.

Two weeks. I just lost two weeks of my life. Fourteen sunrises, fourteen sunsets, the Academy Awards, the change to Daylight Savings Time, and much of the Lenten season. They had all happened without me and I had lived without experiencing them.

And I think that is the first lesson learned from all this. We can get away, check out at the office, spend time with family and friends and God without laptops or iPhones or CNN. And the world will go on without us. And we will not have missed much. We are not as important as we think we are. Really. Trust me on this.