Radiate: You might be someone I know...

Radiating light.✨

When I was 20, I got a high fever in mid-summer, & went to the ER.

Within hours of being admitted, I stopped breathing.

I went unconscious, was intubated, and taken by helicopter/MediVac to another hospital. I was admitted into critical care and wasn't expected to make it through.

I remember waking up days later w/ tubes coming out of me in every direction. My face was full of tape and I couldn't eat, drink, nor speak. Sometimes I wrote msgs to my nurses on a clipboard. Most times, my msgs didn't make sense.

One day, I told 2 nurses that I didn't feel alive. I just wanted to put my feet on the floor and water into my mouth. My legs were so hairy. I felt ugly.

The next day, the 2 nurses returned w/ a razor, shaving cream, a scünci, and cherry chapstick. They shaved my legs, brushed my hair back into a ponytail, & gently patted the cherry chapstick onto my lips.

I felt like a million bucks, even though I was unable to move and still had all of those tubes in me. It took weeks to recover.

I returned a year later to thank everyone. I couldn't just waltz into the CCU, so I couldn't thank anyone.

To this day, I keep thinking that maybe strangers near me might be the nurses who took care of me. Or maybe my organ donor's family. Or maybe the nurses' relatives-- so I treat everyone as if they are.

My thank-yous couldn't reach them directly, but maybe the energy of my gratitude through my actions does.

Treat everyone well. You never know how they connect to your life. 💜

Radiate...✨