Still trying to sort that out.

I've had several close calls. The first time I thought "Not my time". The second time I thought "I got lucky". The third time I thought "I just have a strong will to live". The fourth time wasn't a close call, it actually happened. I died in 2008 and wrote an article for Dirt Rag about what happened.

The only thing I changed in that article was the part where Walter said he ran to me and I was breathing. Reality is that his son ran to get his mom and dad and Walter's wife, a nurse, got to me and I wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. Before she could start CPR I jumped up and started walking to my house to get a shower. Walter tried to stop me and I was in full-on fight mode because he was trying to stop me from getting cleaned up.

I didn't put the bit about Walt's wife saying I was dead in the article because I knew friends and family would read it. For years I hid it from my wife and family. It ate at me. Still does, once in a while.

I have no idea why I got a 2nd chance. Over the years I've known a lot of people that, in my mind, were better people than me that are no longer here.

I still have memory issues, migraines, anxiety, and stuff like that. Doc suggested I get a dog to help with the anxiety.

I've found that since the injury I'm happiest when helping others. I volunteered at a local prison - working with inmates in the wood shop. It's crazy. The wood shop is the single most dangerous place to work in the prison, but at the same time it's an awesome place to be because I enjoy it and I'm (hopefully) helping these guys learn something that will keep them from returning to jail/prison.

For those that think dying is scary...for me it was like a switch. Sudden, hard impact to the head? Lights out.