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| At the crossroads... Middlesex Centre, ON August 5, 2023 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
I’ve written about it every year since - see below for more - but this year feels…I don’t know, different.
So I’ve returned to the spot where it all began, where I cranked my neck while riding my bike, accidentally tore my carotid artery, and set off a chain of events that colors my and my family’s life to this day.
I’m here not because I hate this place. I strangely don’t. Rather, I revere it, as it’s where my life quite literally turned itself down a different path.
Ten years on, I’m starting to appreciate how profoundly this experience has reshaped me.
Ten years on, I’m a lot more deliberate in how I spend precious time, who I spend it with, and whether I’m doing everything I can to squeeze as much joy and meaning out of it.
Ten years on, I’m keenly aware of how precarious this life thing is.
Ten years on, I cherish the fact that my brain still lets me do what I do - create words and images, tell stories that need to be told, surround myself with passionate professionals just as committed to the craft, bring knowledge and hope and light to others through my work.
Ten years on, I hope I’m a better human being.
In the end, I’m not going to regret that any of this happened. The world is constantly throwing all kinds of stuff at all of us, and nothing we do can ever change or control that. Like the weather, it just is.
This experience has taught me that we can certainly control how we choose to respond. Like maybe bring an umbrella.
My response every day since has been a simple one: get up in the morning, shake off the dizziness, fear, and worry, consciously express gratitude that I’m still here and still me, and dive headlong into whatever the day decides to serve up.
And at the end of each day, I’ll reflect on what I accomplished and hope I get another day to do it all again.
Because we’re all dealing with stuff, and we all wish we could do better with the time we’ve been given.
Because this experience and this decade have taught me that time is the only thing that matters.
#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #wonderland #ninemile #road #stroke #awareness #apple #iphone #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #cycling #life #family #health #everything
Related:
START HERE: So, about that stroke - August 2014
#2: When even "thank you" seems lame - August 2014
#3: More stroke stuff... - August 2014
Stroke survivor shares his story, London Free Press, Aug 14, 2014
Coming up on Canada AM - Lookahead to February 2015 interview
Winding down the day that was - February 2015 - incl link to Canada AM/Heart/Stroke Month segment
Life at the crossroads - April 2015
Two years on... - August 2015
Three bonus years - August 2016
Four years later - August 2017
Five years on - August 2018
Luke Perry could have been me - or any of us - March 2019
The day everything changed - August 2019
Seven years on, August 2020
Eight years on, August 2021
#StrokeAwarenessMonth, the video, June 2022
Nine years on... - August 2022
Glad you're still here. Incredible strength you have shown in this post.
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