I will turn 73 this year.
Most of the male members of my family didn’t make it to this age.
I have often wondered, why am I still here?
Looking at the many health problems I have had over the decades, I believe God must have a reason for keeping me around.
When I was in college, I was taking an allergy shot every week for more than seven years.
I went to the doctor one week, got the shot, went into shock and died. The doctor gave me two shots of epinephrine to counteract the shock and two shots of adrenalin to help get my heart started again.
Why am I still here?
About 10 years later, I had severe pain in my stomach and went to the hospital.
Tests were conducted but nothing could be found. I laid in bed for six days before the doctors decided to do an exploratory surgery to see if they could find the problem.
When they opened my up, they found I was full of gangrene. My gall bladder had ruptured almost a week earlier. They said another couple days and they would have been too late.
Why am I still here?
About 20 years later, I had shoulder surgery. Not a major problem. A common operation. They told Susie I would be out of recovery and back into my room in 30 minutes.
It took two and a half hours before I could breathe on my own. Too much anesthesia? They wouldn’t say.
Why am I still here?
On another occasion, the doctor sent me for a stress test. When the results came back, the doctor asked me when I had had a heart attack. I never knew I had one.
Why am I still here?
After shoulder surgery, various doctors noticed a strange sound in my neck with their stethoscope. They sent me for various tests, but couldn’t find the cause. Eventually, I was sent to Indianapolis for further tests. They discovered I had a hole in my subclavian artery. Blood was coming out of this hole with every heartbeat. They said it was a pseudo aneurism. I was told they had never seen anyone walking around with one. They needed to put a stent inside the artery to plug the hole. As I was wheeled into surgery, I was told they had never done this surgery before, but “In theory, it should work.”
Why am I still here?
While fixing this problem, they asked me when I had broken my neck. They showed me on the screen where my neck was broken. That’s probably why my head has never turned very far to the right. We figured it probably happened in my younger years when I was in rodeo and broke horses. Apparently, I hit the ground too hard once.
Why am I still here?
A few years ago, I started seeing a cardiologist. He informed me I had a heart murmur and would have to get a new heart valve in the near future. Until that time, I should not engage in extreme sports.
Why am I still here?
Then, just last year, tests found a large tumor on my kidney. A biopsy said it was malignant and would have to come out. While going through my pre-surgery consultation, the nurse kept looking at me and finally asked when I had my stroke. I was unaware I had ever had a stroke. She said she could tell by looking at my face.
The surgery removed the tumor and about 20% of my right kidney. The surgeon said it had not spread and I should have no problems and would just need a scan every year to make sure everything looks normal.
Why am I still here?
Besides fighting diabetes and taking three insulin shots a day, I don’t know of any other major problems at this time. Apparently, God has a reason for keeping me around. I always heard he has a plan. The only reason I can think of is to keep me writing stories to entertain and educate my readers.
I have been writing professionally since 1980 in newspapers, both in the U.S. and Canada, local, regional and national magazines, and numerous online publications.
Perhaps, that’s why I’m still here.
The author may be reached at [email protected].