An anniversary I have come to hate

Well today marks a day I really have come to not enjoy for the past six or so years...

It's June 13th.

If you're new around here, first and foremost welcome, I'm glad you're here, and secondly today marks the day that my life in a number of ways turned on its head. When I was 13 On Friday June 13th I woke up with symptoms seemingly like typical seasonal allergies, but it ended up being quite a bit more than that. By the afternoon I was unable to breathe and had to be taken to the ER, only to be released with a diagnosis of seemingly a bad asthma attack, except that too was not the case. Only going back to the ER the next night and being subsequently admitted did we find out what the real problem was...A virus had attacked my vocal cords and nervous system and left my vocal cords to the point of barely moving. That was six years ago today.

I have not tasted food in six years, though I am able to distinguish hot and cold and somewhat spicy by the way they feel rather than taste.

I have not smelled flowers in six years though I can admire their beauty visually.

I have not played an instrument I once enjoyed in six years though I have come to love percussion.

This year is not quite as painful as last years anniversary as I was in the middle of a flare of that very same issue in similarly dire circumstances, and yet it still hurts albeit in a different way. Last year marked five years, half a decade, this year marks six years. I have officially been the way I am for more than half a decade...

That's a lot to process.

I am thankful for my friends, and this community, for standing by me for so long through thick and thin, I am unable to truly show how much it means to me, and nevertheless...

Thank you.

Until Next Time,
Max