My experience began one cold night as a lost 13-year-old child. I was living in the lonely confines of a boarding house. I was taking drugs, or anything that was available at the time, as a way of escaping reality. This became habitual. I had no form of income, so I used liquid petroleum gas. … Read more

I awoke the morning of Friday, October 23, 2015, and gathered clothing to take a shower. I remember being short of breath and making my way to my husband’s side of our bed to pick up the landline and call my husband. As I sat on the edge of the bed, I felt myself begin … Read more

I was about 10 years old. I needed a tetanus shot. Later that evening, my arm hurt, this is not unusual for inoculations. I went upstairs to lie down in my bedroom. As I lay there, the pain in my arm became intense. Eventually the pain spread to the entire body. I was in excruciating … Read more

I was holding vigil over my mother’s deathbed. She had checked into the hospital and they found a large non-HodgkinΓÇÖs lymphoma cancer tumor just below her ribcage. The good news was that it was curable. The bad news was that the CHOPS therapy she needed couldn’t be fully used because she had heart problems. She … Read more

I was having my third and last child. I went in the office for the pre-operation consultation. The baby’s heartbeat was racing and I had a fever with elevated blood pressure. So an early C-section was to be done. This would be my third C-section, so I was familiar with how surgery proceeds. I was … Read more

In 2002, I had a severe car crash where I hit a tree head-on at 80 km/h. I lost consciousness several times. The steering wheel pushed me against the driver’s seat. I had a series of broken ribs on both sides, a broken breastbone, and both ankles had been broken. I spent 8 weeks in … Read more

At some point after open-heart surgery on Sept. 15, 2011, there were some ‘big bleeds.’ I’m not sure but I think it was in my nose and throat. When I ‘crashed’ on Sunday, Sept. 18 and had to be resuscitated, it was determined that my lungs had filled with aspirated blood, I was told. On … Read more

At the age of eight, I was having a vacation in Austria with my family. On that day, we were walking a steep walkway in the ‘Watzmannmassiv’, which means ‘High Mountain’ in German. Like the adults, I got a walking stick. I was very proud, as I got a new stick for every hike. Arriving … Read more

At age 7, I was taking swimming lessons in the very deep, dark Lake Michigan. The swimming instructor was a teenage boy. It was our last lesson. He told us to swim out as far as you can, then stop, turn around in the water, and come back to shore. I was a good swimmer, … Read more

I was leaving a learning center for adults, when I was hit by this bus. This happened some 40 kilometers from my home. Instantly, at unbelievable speed I was at my father’s place. I was floating while roaming through the rooms of the house. Then I was back in my body within a few seconds. … Read more