I Did Not Die Today.

I stole that title. It’s the same title as one of my favorite Wizard of Ads Monday Morning Memos. I stole it to capture your attention. I stole it because this morning I became fearful of something less than death.

To help myself rationalize and calm the fear, repeating the simple statement “I did not die today.” seems to work.

What Did I Find Out This Morning?

Well, it’s likely not as bad as anywhere your mind may have taken you after reading that first bit. But you see, I’m a sissy. I don’t like doctors, hospitals, needles, pain or anything commonly associated with injury/medicine.

I found out, that due to a herniated disc in my back, I have to have spine surgery.

I’m 28 years old. With a wife. And a daughter. A daughter who loves to play chase, kickball, and dance. And I LOVE doing those things with her.

As you might have guessed, a risk of spinal surgery is paralysis. Again, I’m a sissy… and I’m downright scared.

The chances of paralysis are minimal. But evidently my herniation is centrally located in the spinal canal, making it harder to operate on.

For me, just the mental image of the surgeon grinding away at my spine to access the nerve cavity, pushing the nerves away to access the herniated portion of the disc, and cutting that part of the disc off, makes me want to live with the pain for the rest of my life.

But I won’t. I can’t.

So friends, acquaintances, and anyone in the general Twittersphere who comes across this, I’m asking for you to shoot up a prayer for me, or at least think a happy thought for me.

At the very least, go home and wrap someone you love tightly in a hug. I know that’s what I’m going to do.