On
October 12, 2014 at approximately 3:00 AM, I admitted myself to Denver Health
One with just a couple hours of life left in my body. Fluid was rapidly
filling my lungs and my life-long journey was literally coming to a close
breath by breath. I got better, however, it seems I had amassed a laundry list
of ailments during the previous forty years of poor decisions so I was in and
out of hospitals a total of three times until about the second week in December.
The
bottom line is I have been 100 percent disabled. My heart took a solid shot or
two during my hospital stays and it looks like my “achey-breaky’ heart may
never function at 100% again. I can no longer drive safely so I lost my job and
I sold my car. Now I must depend on blessed friends and family to get me to doctor’s
appointments, the grocery store, the local library and occasional social
outings. I use oxygen 24/7 and fatigue continues to exert a major handicapping influence in
my life.
I
am no longer able to earn a living due to my various physical challenges so you
can imagine the massive adjustments I have had to make at this point in my life. Although
I am faced with a drastic changing of gears, you needn't feel sorry for me. Our
society has built-in safety nets for people in my current position, my family
has stepped up magnificently and one month from now I will qualify for
retirement anyway. I definitely had no idea I would be retiring this spring so
I am ill-prepared for such a radical shift in my life but, nonetheless, shift I
must.
My
silver lining: Although spending long hours sitting at a key board every day is
quite beyond my present ability, I can still put quill to paper well enough to
journal as I rest semi-reclined. Now that I have time to read and time to write,
shifting gears has become a matter of personal re-dedication, redirection if you
prefer. Accordingly, I have decided to archive all of my old postings in a
number of secure locations where I can organize my ancient thought bubbles for
possible inclusion in future publications.
I
encourage those of you who enjoy my some-what eclectic writing style to stay
tuned. My life is all about recuperation and survival, which includes regaining
a step or two of lost mental clarity. I walk every day for my heart and I must
write every day for my mind’s sake. I’ll need some time to get up to speed but,
when I trip upon something worth reading, I’ll let you folks know through Facebook.
I promise…
Spearwolfe,
out
