Katie sent us this email after something really scary happened in July that she would have never been able to deal with without her husband.
Hey Dave,I’ve been listening to you since I was 10. I’m a big fan. On July 1 I almost died due to a perforated ulcer, which was caused by stress, lupus, lupus meds, and smoking. I dropped to the ground, it was the most incredible intense pain. Worse than kidney stones and giving birth. My husband called an ambulance and I was in surgery within the hour. They said 15 more mins and I would have died. My stomach acid was spilling into my intestines, essentially burning them. The doctor said it was bad and all I remember was begging them to put me to sleep. I woke up to a 12-inch incision on my tummy and tubes everywhere.
I vowed to take care of myself and family from that day on. My husband's dad passed a few years ago and through this, he has been the most incredible support, father to our 4 yr old, and has endured a lot from this. I developed a staph infection on my face which will require another surgery. But the key point I learned. I’m 30. There is no stress or job that is worth my life. I quit smoking and took a 3-month leave from work to get my health under control. Millennials like me need to slow down. Take our family and our lives as a gift. I never thought this would be me. But it was. I would like to do something for my husband, hoping you could help. If not I very much understand. I’m just grateful to be alive and share my story to everyone so I can try to help others. I’m only 2 weeks post op but I’m encouraged at the fact I’m here writing this email today :)