Near Death Experience

Chapter 1 - A day like no other

For Richard, it was like any other day. He was just walking down the street listening to music, enjoying the sun on his face. He was making his way to the gym. When out of nowhere, a car veered onto the pavement, knocking him down onto the pavement. The next thing Richard knew, he woke up in hospital.

He was lying in bed, and the light above him seemed as bright as the sun. His body hurt all over as he lay there listening to various machines beep and thinking to himself.

At first, all I could think about was the pain, but I soon distracted myself with other thoughts.

Trying to recall exactly what had happened, as I remember a doctor enters my room, they explained how close I came to dying. This struck me and made me realise how much I would have missed out on and how much I've been missing out on...

To stay in shape, I've kept a strict diet and work out regimens. I didn't enjoy working out, and I found the diet foods restrictive and boring. I just saw this as something I had to do, but now I can see that life's short and I don't have to do anything I don't want to.

I was in the hospital for three weeks after waking up before I was allowed to return home. I still had to use crutches to get around and had a cast on one arm. Even though I was allowed to go home, it was hard to do much of anything; a few of my ribs had been cracked in the accident. I spent this time resting and recovering on my chair watching the TV or playing games. I couldn't stand for two long, so cooking wasn't an option, and I raked up a long list of charges on my card to fast food restaurants.

I had to wear the cast for three weeks, and it was even longer before my cracked rips repaired themselves. If you saw my body during this time, it would be obvious how the change in diet was taking effect. My face had rounded out, and a paunch hung over my jeans. However, in this short period, I enjoyed myself more than ever before in my adult life.