The Beatles said it first, “I get by with a little help from my friends!”  But the truth is, getting through the last two weeks took a lot more than just a little help.  My good buddy, Scott Bourne, just jumped in and drove the bus, helping me stay current with blogs, both new ones from him and finishing off incomplete drafts I had in the pipeline.   

Here’s the short version of what happened…

June 14th at 4:00 am, I hit the emergency room in Sarasota.  Doubled over in pain, I thought it was a heart attack, but the clerk at the desk had a more advanced degree in medicine than I did and sent me off to fill out a  form and added, “Take a seat, we’re a little backed up!”  So, as I pondered my own mortality, I filled out the form and waited.   

The end result was a gall stone that caused pancreatitis and a few other not so fun challenges. Tuesday they did the procedure to remove the gall stone.  Wednesday they realized they screwed up my heart rhythm. Thursday they announced the duct the stone had originally blocked had sent a couple of nasty bacteria into my blood stream and they wanted to keep me in Florida.  I finally got them to release me and immediately headed back to Akron to my own doctor and familiar turf. 

I pretty much thought it was all done, until my fever spiked 48 hours before my next doctor’s appt and that was it – I was back in the hospital and the gall bladder from hell was to be no more.  They operated on the 21st and by Wednesday night I was finally home, still having a slight fever and infection, but so happy to be in my own bed!

But here are some terrific lessons I learned along the way:

1) It’s your network that will pull you through every challenge that comes your way, but your network is only as good as the friendships that make up its core.  Don’t just collect business cards.  Take the time to get to know all those potentially close friends you make and be there for them in the same way you hope they’ll be there for you.

2) Always try and have a health crisis on your own turf!  I know that’s not always possible, but Sarasota Memorial Hospital has been written up as one of the ten best in the country, but when you’re a solo act from out of town, you don’t have the same advocate you do with your own doctor.  A lot could have been avoided if just one doc on my case had actually known me!  Akron General ran circles around them in every way!

3) Business is always there and there are times when you’ve got to just shut it down.  I’m back and playing catch up this week, but the world didn’t fall apart because I didn’t check email every day.  We all get so wrapped up in believing our own self-importance.  Well, your health, family emergencies and just loving your family always trumps business.

4) Have a back up plan for when you have to go into crisis mode.  In the middle of all the craziness I wrote a blog about having back up – it’s kind of funny, because I wrote it at a time when I thought I had won the gall bladder battle, never realizing I’d have another week of fighting it out to go!

Oh yeah, and listen to the people who love you most.  They really do know you better than you do! 

So, I’m back to blogging with some great ideas in the days ahead, but not without a big thanks to Scott for watching my back; Sheila for actually taking care of my back; Jeff Jochum for helping me remind everybody about Skip’s Summer School; Bambi Cantrell for offering to pick up a program I had scheduled and for hundreds of incredible friends who have sent me all kinds of great get well vibes and their prayers for a speedy recovery. 

I’m not quite ready to run a marathon, but it sure feels good to know I’m feeling good enough to stand on the sidelines and cheer!