27 Years And Counting

I'm likely going to die of something else now.

As my Father would say. it's a good day to wake up "above the grass."

Twenty-seven years ago today, one intrepid neurosurgeon and his supporting cast of cohorts spent eight hours resecting a golf ball-sized malignant tumor from my cerebellum during a radical craniotomy.

Despite an ensuing three months of Chernobyl-level radiation therapy, I consider 1/10 the official day I became a cancer survivor.

Today is another day I never thought I'd get to see. A day to hug my wife and my children. A day to call my parents and my brother and tell them I love them. A day to express endless gratitude for the time I have been given and for the community I belong to.

Despite being, as Alli Ward would say, well past my expiration date, today is yet another reminder of our fragility and our fortune.

Please enjoy today's special reflective episode of #OutOfPatients and share it with those you love. Have a listen, call your loved ones, and hug everyone you care about.