Today is the first day of Legadon. What is Legadon you ask? Allow me to explain!
The term "Legadon" (LegIsGone sounded too ghoulish) came about when I realized that I couldn't title this post "One Year Later" due to the fact that I have two big events to reflect on, 35 days apart. A single day just wouldn't do it justice which is the same reason I celebrate a "birthday week".
For me, the period between my accident (October 7th) and my last surgery (November 11th) has taken on a sort of "holy" symbolism, like Ramadan or Lent. As I understand it, those periods are meant to be a time of self-reflection, endurance and sacrifice resulting in a greater devotion to what's important in life.
Ramadan is approximately one lunar month long and Lent is a strict 40 days. Legadon is 35 days long.
During my first Legadon, I endured fear, intense pain and great sadness. I felt great joy and trepidation for the future. I learned humility and gained an appreciation for what's really important in life.
This Legadon, I will be experiencing much of the same as we continue our climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. With any luck, today we will climb to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) and begin to experience the effects of extreme altitude before descending back down to 12,950 feet (3,947 meters).
Yep, nearly a year has passed but it still seems like yesterday. Life took an unexpected turn from normal that day and landed me in a very new situation, but in many ways, life has never been better.
Things got a bit more complex but if not for the events of that day, I would have missed out on meeting some very special people and reconnecting with friends and family.
A wise man said to me once: it's amazing how even in the most "unlucky" of moments you can feel really lucky. Well put.
One thing's for sure, if it wasn't for that day, I would have needed a different title for this blog. It would just be weird otherwise!
Note: This post was pre-written and pre-scheduled to be published before I left, so unfortunately I will be unable to respond to your comments at this time. I'll respond when I return!
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Awesome Mike! Thanks for making me smile (and giggle). I hope you guys are lovin' Kilimanjaro...it's very cool to think of you guys hiking (or maybe more likely trudging..that's what I'd be doing) up the biggest mountain in Africa!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how your going to follow this one up for the third Legadon! Ski to the south pole?
haha Careful Dave, now you've got me thinking Iditerod!
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