February 2012: Reality sets in…

On Wednesday, February 1, 2012, I was released from OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City and walked away a ‘free man’. I had been in the hospital for more than a week.

The sheer joy I felt as I walked through those sliding glass doors on the way to my mother’s car is absolutely indescribable. I kept thinking, “The nightmare is over.”

I was no longer sick — in fact, I felt better than I had in at least two months. I no longer had to wait for nurses to satisfy simple requests. There was no more waiting on news from doctors. I was in my element again. I was on my own and free to resume my independent life.

It may sound terribly cliche, but all I could really think about at the time was how much I was craving a greasy hamburger, huge order of french fries, and vanilla malt.