Two years ago today, on a cold Saturday night in Long Island, after coming back from dinner, my date and I went to visit friends in the neighborhood. What we, nor anyone else in the house at the time knew, was that outside an ice storm had started, one that was not forecast to take place. As we said goodbye, my date stepped out, slipped, and grabbed the railing, avoiding injury. I stepped out, my feet slipped forward and I fell straight back, the back of my head hitting the concrete. Bleeding like I had never bled before, my friends called an ambulance and I was transported to the local hospital.
When all was said and done, I ended up with 5 staples and a nasty concussion. As I often say to people who never had a concussion, you know what a concussion is, but you don’t understand a concussion till you’ve had a concussion. Besides causing symptoms like blurred vision and headaches-I actually had a constant headache for the first 3 weeks-it wreaks havoc on your mental and emotional status.
Fast forward, by May 1st feeling much better, I declared myself mostly recovered. The one thing I was not able to do however was write. Every time I tried, my mind darted all over the place. While I feared I might have lost the ability to do what I enjoy most, I rationalized it by saying to myself, if this is the worst to come from this, I’m a lucky guy. As fortune would have it, by July I was writing again and could then say that I had completely recovered.
Many people go through incidents much worse than this one, but nevertheless I find it important to share. And here is why. When I was in the hospital the Emergency Room Dr. looked at my head and said “Good Job!” When I replied, “Why? Is it not that bad?”, she replied, “No. Good job that you’re here. Many people here don’t need to be. You do need to be here.” Later when the CT Scan returned showing no major damage the same Dr. told me that she was relieved to see the results of the scan because she was not sure I would be OK until that point. What that told me, combined with the slight recollection I have of the impact of the fall, is that had I fallen just a little bit harder or maybe at a different angle, I would either have had long term or permanent damage or even worse, it would have taken my life. So as I sit here 2 years later, now living in South Florida where the only ice I see is in the bottom of my Scotch glass, and feeling healthier than I have for many years, the gratitude I have to God for allowing me to be where I am today needs to be shared with as many people as possible.
This is why I am sharing this today. Because I can now look back at 2 years ago and recognize how fortunate I am.
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