Late in the day Monday, November 1, I knew something wasn’t right.  Severe pain in the abdominal area would not let up.  Early the next morning, my wife Jane drove me to the emergency room.

Once admitted to the hospital, the doctors thought I had a case of colitis.  But it wasn’t long before I was told I had a case of E. coli, a very rare type.  That led to a few days in the hospital of observation and treatment.

In case you are wondering, the hospital did report this, as required, to local government.

It was clear that in the early stages I had a very serious condition that created a toxin within my body that could attack key organs.  I consider myself fortunate that I am recovering.

The doctor released me from the hospital late Friday afternoon.  I have some follow-up blood tests and another physician visit in the next few days, but it appears I am on the mend.  I most definitely feel much better.

This happened almost exactly one year after my bout with COVID.  Remember, there was no vaccine one year ago.  My primary care physician told me a few months later she was very close to putting me in the hospital for COVID.

Bottom line is, I am a very lucky man.  I have had two serious health challenges in the past year and I am still here to write about it.

I did not have access to updating the blog when hospitalized, but I didn’t want rumors to start about why I hadn’t been posting here.  I did have my cell phone, so I went on social media just to let everyone know I was in the hospital and would return to blogging when able.

I was shocked at the number of people wishing me well, offering their kind thoughts and prayers.  To each and every one of you reaching out to me from those social media posts, thank you.

But the medical staff at St. Vincent Hospital in Fishers has earned my biggest thanks.  Somehow, the nurses caring for me discovered I write this blog.  They asked me not to write about my stay or use their names.

I will honor half of that and will not use any names.  Let’s just say I owe this recovery to the doctors, nurses and entire medical staff involved in my care.  They are the reason I am able to write this piece. “Thank you” does not begin to express the depth of my gratitude.  We are fortunate to have so many good people working in our health care system.

I do have a little time to isolate myself at home, but once I have the green light, I’ll be out and about once again.  It looks like a lot of news has been happening in Fishers the past week.  Allow me to start catching-up.

Thanks for reading.