This is me in June 2003. I had just won a silver at Eastern Sprints rowing for Cornell. Two months later I was in the ICU. Today is the 19th anniversary of the spine surgery that almost killed me. Years of rowing probably didn’t help my degenerative disc disease, so I needed a herniated disc removed at 19 years old. Two weeks later I was in the ER with what ended up being the largest blood clot in Johns Hopkins history at the time. Best case scenario is they would cut off my left leg. But the odds of surviving that surgery were next to zero. By true luck, a doctor tipped us off to an experimental procedure that could save my life. It could also kill me or paralyze me. At 19 I had to make a decision that no person should have to make: do I undergo a dangerous surgery that might save my life or wait to die in a hospital. I chose the surgery and lived. This time of year is always hard and emotional remembering everything that happened. I’m unquestionably lucky to be alive. Happy 19th I’m Not Dead-iversary to me. Can’t believe I was so close to death and I still spend time out of my life writing complaint letters to salad chains. ❤️