I was in a coma for eleven days. There is only one thing that I can recall during that time.

I had been very close to my father's mother. She was probably the most encouraging and loving towards me of my whole family. She died eleven years earlier. But now, during my coma, I saw her again.

She looked young and was surrounded by light. I felt that special bond again. She spoke five words to me.

"You need to go back," she said softly.

When I came out of my coma, I didn't recognize my crying mom or my tearful wife at first. It didn't help that I had all sorts of tubes in me, including one in my trachea, which meant I could not talk. For quite a while, I had to communicate by writing short notes. I was in intensive care for 31 days. I had a speech therapist to help me get the right sounds out of my mouth and an eating therapist to help me get food into it. Unfortunately, I needed a physical therapist, but I didn't get one. I actually didn't get out of the bed for the entire 64 days I was in the hospital.

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