Cały tekst:
As a vegetarian who exercised 1 - 3 hours a day, the last thing I envisioned was coming down with leukemia. I was in the midst of directing a technical rescue course when I became sick and had to be airlifted to Denver. A few days later, as I lay on the hospital bed undergoing induction chemotherapy, I knew that I had a high probability of dying within the next few days or months.
I was not afraid of death, for I have a good walk with my Lord. Yet, in another way, I was terrified to die. I have two daughters, aged 10 and 12, and I kept thinking of waking up on resurrection day and having a beautiful woman I didn’t recognize running towards me and throwing her arms around me and saying, “Daddy! Daddy!”
This vision haunted me throughout the 64 days I spent in the hospital. I had missed their teenage years. I wasn’t there to protect them on their first date, to teach them to drive, etc. I regretted all the time spent at work and with the county and hospital trying to save lives, yet not spending the time with my family when my daughters were younger. All those late night meetings, SWAT and fire call-outs, being chief of staff, director of an ER, all to benefit society. Was it really worth it when it came to family? No. All that mattered now to me was to spend time with my wife and children. If God spares my life, I plan to do so.