Happy Thanksgiving

Eight days ago I died. Not that I remember any of it. According to my wife, I'd gone to the basement to use my bike trainer after an early dinner. From upstairs she heard me fall heavily to the ground. She found me moaning, and I quickly stopped breathing. She called 911 and performed CPR on me until the EMTs arrived. Simply speaking she saved my life.

They rushed me to the hospital, and for the next 48 hours I was in a coma with a respirator down my throat. That time was followed by another 48 hours of drug induced short term memory loss which was highlighted was an angiogram that revealed there was nothing structurally wrong with my heart (I merely have fickle ticker), and the implantation of a defibrillator an inch below my left clavicle. I remember bits and flashes of those two days like old snapshots. Finally there were two semi-coherent days, and then they discharged me.

I came home a couple days ago and have been overwhelmed by the love and support that has been extended to my family and me from friends and family. People I've met only once or twice over the past decade have called to wish me well. The families we've grown to know from Karl's soccer team all chipped in to buy us a Thanksgiving dinner so my wife, who has been through even more of an ordeal than me, wouldn't feel obliged to cook. I've received multiple thoughtful cards and gifts from coworkers. One of the most enjoyable presents were a couple custom built crossword puzzles created by friends with whom I daily provide with the NY Times crossword.

I am equally overwhelmed by the by the enormity of my situation. I was clinically dead. I was pulled back from the abyss by the love and know-how of my wife. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I remember Thanksgiving. It used to be a big deal. It now seems to be relegated to an afterthought holiday sandwiched between the two retail boons of Halloween and Christmas. It's that overwrought family dinner that currently seems to be more of an excuse to play some extra NFL games than anything else. A couple of my friends are using this long weekend as an opportunity to leave the continent entirely. One is going to Hawaii and the other to the Bahamas. I was envious of them when I first heard where they were going. That's not the case for me anymore. This year I am so overflowing with thanks that I can't comprehend missing Thanksgiving dinner with my family for anything.

Most of us have far more to be thankful for than we realize. I'm especially thankful and happy this year because I died. Dying made me realize just how precious life, friends, and family truly are, and tomorrow I will enjoy Thanksgiving like never before. I hope you do too.