The Unexpected “New Begining” – That I Wasn’t Prepared For

2017 – What a significant year this was for me. Unfortunately, it was both good and bad.

I was excited about the direction my life was going. Became a qualified teacher, received a promotion and was financially stable – thinking about the future. I even went on three holidays back to back in summer!

However, in October 2017, that was the month I almost died. The month I survived a traumatic brain injury. Life has not been the same since then. Now I am on a new journey.

So what happened?

You are asking me a question which I still won’t know the answer to! I ask myself fortnightly, and I genuinely don’t have an answer. What comes next is me relying on my memory which is warped, and what my friends and family told me, so don’t judge me.

I remember having a consistent headache the week before my brain aneurysm happened. It was a dull pain that caused me to turn off the lights in my classroom and reduce my computer screen’s brightness. To me, this wasn’t anything serious, so I shrugged it off and carrying on as usual. I was that person who hardly got sick.

It turns out that it was the beginning of what was worse to come. Long story short I ended up having what they call a ‘thunderclap headache’, so severe it eventually made me unconscious. One of my arteries in my brain had burst, causing blood to leak and form a massive blood clot.

Luckily my mum woke from her sleep and heard me calling her. God had my back. For twelve days, I was in intensive care with a quarter of my skull missing, and that is where my story changed. I don’t remember any of that, only flashes of waking up people staring at me. I wondered what their problem was, to be honest! For me – I was ready to go to work, clearly not realising I couldn’t move my right side or speak. But that is a story for another day.

A funny side story. I ate Psalm 23 from my small bible when I was a baby. God is still standing with me. I appreciate that I am alive, breathing and still very independent, all thanks to him.

¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.