To Welcome With ♥️ Affection ♥️ What is Sent By Fate

In Marcus Aurelius's Meditations - there's a passage that encourages readers to "welcome with affection that which is sent by fate."

I want able to fully live up to that, but at times the profoundness of the wisdom was comforting. 

On September 13, 2021 I was admitted to the hospital with blood clots in my lungs, damage to my heart, and swelling in my chest and face from air leaking from my lungs. 

Up until the point where the doctor said "we need to have a conversation about mortality and probabilities" I wasn't aware of how sick I was. 

These images are vignettes of my stay. 

• Boost drinks, because I wasn't eating. Unfortunately they exacerbated my cough so for a while even they were tough to drink.
• My first meal - a taco as I recall, and most of it ultimately went to waste. Most foods I loved previously were unpalatable for months. 
• The nighttime glow of my oxygen sensor. 
• A selfie of me in rocking the penultimate attire -  hospital gown accented with oxygen tubes. 
• The passage from Meditations snapped for future reference. 

Getting sick like that isn't something is recommend, but it wasn't all bad. Throughout the recovery, relationships were strengthened and priorities realigned. 

There's more to the story, but I'll save that for another memory...