on stoicism.

Many people are in the hospital for weeks if their apendix is burst for 2-3 days. Mine had been ruptured for 3 weeks and I was only in the hospital for 6 days. It still boggles my mind that their was not more damage done to my body considering the fact that their was poison spewing into my abdomen for that long. The only reason for this is the grace of God and his hand of protection over me. One fact I try not to think about is that I could have died, but I down-play everything so I try not to make a big deal out of it (unless I'm trying to get someone to go to the Beiber movie with me-which still hasn't worked).

As I'm continuing to process this whole chain of events there are a few things that stuck out to me...

First, I noticed the words that were used to describe me. Mild-mannered. Stoic. Trooper. Tough. Unbelievably high pain tolerance. Wow. (speechless). None of the doctors or nurses could believe that I had been so sick for so long without having gone to a doctor.

From all this, I realized how prideful I am and how little I am willing to ask for help. I always think, "It's not that bad" or "I can take care of it on my own". Well, guess what. Sometimes you have to get over yourself and admit you're in pain, or admit you need help. This entire experience from beginning to whenever I'm fully recovered is teaching me extreme humility. Do you know what it's like to not be able to shower yourself? Or brush your hair? Or lean over to pick something up? This list could go on, but really what I'm getting at is that I had to forget my "I can do everything" attitude and ask for help. I think this is a very valid application to everyday life.