Today is my sixth anniversary of Not Being Dead.
I know that sounds overly dramatic… so, let me put it another way: Six years ago today, I had my first blood transfusion.
I have Pernicious Anemia. It’s basically a B12 Deficiency. So, what’s that got to do with a blood transfusion? Without B12, your body can’t make blood. And by the time my doctor listened to me and did a CBC (complete blood count), I basically had no blood. My hemoglobin was 5, which is really super low.
I had been sick for a while, and had been going to the doctor every couple of weeks with no answers. After I went into the hospital, it still took a while to get the answer. I was misdiagnosed and went through some crazy medical procedures in the process. You can read all about my hospital adventures here.
I am really thankful for the whole experience. I think that almost dying was one of the best things that could have happened to me.
There were a lot of ups and downs in the hospital, when they were giving me treatments for the things they misdiagnosed me with. Everyone was expecting these things to work, and my blood counts kept dropping and dropping. I was wondering if I was going to make it to my 32nd birthday that August.
It’s true what they say – you regret the things you haven’t done. I thought about the fact that I had never been to New York City, had never spoke at a big blogging conference. I thought about the fact that I wouldn’t get to see my nephews grow up, or that I had never found The Dream Boy.
I’ve visited NYC and I’ve checked “speaking at big conferences” off of my bucket list. I’m still in the process of watching my nephews grow up. My sister also surprised me with a niece that I didn’t see coming. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know how much time I spend with my little BFFs. I don’t take a second of it for granted.
The Dream Boy (maybe I should change that to “Dream Man”) is still elusive. He might be out there. And if I don’t find him, well, I’ve got a lot of funny dating stories. Seriously. If you ever need a laugh, just ask me to tell you about some of my dates.
There was a while afterward, where I kept feeling like “the other shoe was going to drop.” It didn’t. Weeks, months, and years have gone by. I might get sick again. I might not. I learned that I can’t be afraid of what may or may not happen.
I never thought I’d be so “go with the flow.”
If I have any words of wisdom. it’s this:
1) Don’t wait your life away.
If you want to go to New York City, go. If you want to start a business, start one. Waiting to launch your website or send out a newsletter? WTF? Why are you waiting? Whatever it is, do it.
[Tweet “Want to start a business? Start one. Waiting to send out a newsletter? WTF? Whatever it is, do it.”]
2) You’re going to have to let some stuff go.
Autoimmune disorders are kind of a mystery. Some people say they are caused by stress. Maybe stress caused my Pernicious Anemia… maybe it didn’t. But I have learned that life is filled with a lot of unimportant crap. Just focus on the stuff that is actually important to you.
Lots of stuff is going to happen to you, both good and bad. You’re going to be faced with trying situations and annoying people.
Take a deep breath. Do the best you can with the things that matter, and to hell with the rest of it.
[Tweet “Take a deep breath. Do the best you can, and to hell with the rest of it.”]
You’ve got much more important things to think about. Like, doing all the things you’ve been waiting to do.