If you’re reading this the day it’s written (Sept. 28, 2022), I’ll be in the neurosurgery suite or in a recovery room at Atrium’s main hospital campus in Charlotte. Because… Today’s the day!  This is what we’ve been waiting for since we first learned of my cerebral hemorrhage in May. The neurosurgeon has set aside 2.5 hours for the procedure today. Then, if all goes well after a day or two here, recovery time will be a short couple of weeks at home.  We’re praying that with this procedure, I’ll start moving forward again (even if a bit more slowly

If you know me well, you’re probably aware of how much I hate to wait. Whether it is waiting in a TSA line in the airport, or for a file to load to my laptop, or in the check out lane at my local grocer, waiting is a frustrating game. It’s not so much the actual waiting, as it is not knowing when the waiting will end. Will I be able to make it to my flight on time? Is the internet just slow or is it actually down? Are they really training someone new now that I’m in line?

There are those occasions that as you’re describing your health, it feels like you’re talking about someone else. It is more of a clinical conversation and not so much your own personal reality. That seems to be the majority of the time for me recently. My wife, Beth, and I had planned to trek Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in the Summer of 2022 to celebrate her teaching retirement and to cap off my ‘gap year’ from corporate life. Throughout the pandemic, we spent months researching, training and equipping ourselves to be ready for summiting the legendary Kilimanjaro. But in late