I have two birthdays. One of them is November 5.  The other is July 23.

On July 23, 2000 I went to the ER at Washington Hospital Center with severe abdominal pain.  Turns out my intestines had ruptured and my body was being poisoned to death.  After an MRI, I was rushed into emergency surgery and spent two days on a respirator.  I should have died, but God had other plans.  I feel like God gave me a second chance, a second life.

It’s hard to take things for granted after a near-death experience.  I would never want to go through it again. It was a torturous two year process of surgery and reversal surgery to repair the damage.  But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Life is a gift.  I feel like I’ve been given the gift two times!