“Your current safe boundaries were once unknown frontiers.” ~Unknown
Lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and massive machines, I seriously considered the possibility that I was having a nightmare. Everything felt so surreal.
At 22 years old, my life was full of promise and potential. I had recently graduated from college and it was a time of beginnings. I was living in Manhattan and had begun working in music publishing.
I had no idea that a late night trip to the emergency room due to a rapid heart rate would result in a weeklong hospitalization.
When extreme, unexpected, life changing, or scary things happen, how can we not only survive them but also grow from the experience?
1. Embrace the situation you’re in.
I was in the emergency room when the doctor gravely told me this was serious. My thyroid was pumping out gigantic quantities of thyroid hormone, leading to a potentially fatal thyroid storm. I was wheeled upstairs and admitted to the “step down” unit, one step down in care from ICU.
Hearing the doctor’s extreme words, I was shocked into inaction. I was so taken off guard that fighting or fleeing didn’t even cross my mind. I simply stayed where I was, lying on the bed, and prepared myself to accept this crazy situation and cope with whatever happened next. (more…)