Brand In The Valley Of The Shadow
Jerry Fletcher
Consultant Messaging Master, Int'l Professional Speaker, I find the words and graphics individuals and organizations use to become even more memorable and more profitable
Missing in action
The last entry in my vital slgns record was made on September 21, 2024. The one after followed a? stay in the hospital that started on September 24. The missing ?three days were spent on the floor of my condo trying to crawl to the refrigerator to get some orange juice for what I thought was a low blood sugar episode.
It wasn’t. It was a Kidney shutdown that sapped all my strength.
The only option.
Consciousness came and went multiple times. Finally, I started yelling for help.
No one answered. But I kept at it. It was all I could do.? My daughter, who was missing our regular Sunday telephone call, asked?the local sheriff to make a wellness visit or I wouldn’t be alive. Luckily, I was conscious when he was trying to get into my condo and I could yell the combination for the key box next to the front door. He called 911 and I wound up in the hospital.
The fear doesn’t stop.
When I came around I learned what abject terror is like. I had a tube down my throat so they could keep me breathing. It gags you. What you don’t see on the TV shows is that they tie your wrists to the rails of the hospital bed to keep you from getting your hands on the gag. Terror is your only true companion. ?You can speak with your eyes when you are that afraid.
I did. The dread did not depart.
The nurse spoke calmly about what was happening and where I was and when I could be released from the restraints.
That didn’t really help.
Reality gets stretched thin.
I had no idea what day it was. Even when they removed the intubation I was not sure what was real and what was hallucination. That deep in the valley there is still fear. It took me two days to believe that my daughter, who had flown in from her home in Washington DC to be at my side, was actually there.
Brand in the valley of the shadow.
Laying on that floor, unable to move, I refused to give up. My vision was and is to continue to help entrepreneurs become more memorable and more profitable. I screamed for the help to carry on.
Even gagged I tried to communicate. I fought through the nightmare and kept pushing for facts until my reality matched that of those around me. I made credibility key.
Today, weeks into recovery, I tell anyone who will listen: “Your health is your responsibility. You must be the one that demands treatment but more importantly assure that you stay in condition to continue living.”
Credibility to cash sometimes must venture into the valley of the shadow. Avoid health concerns that necessitate that journey if you can. ?
I’m Jerry Fletcher, strategic messaging consultant and professional international keynote speaker. I find the words and graphics individuals and organizations use to become even more memorable and more profitable. Learn more at my web sites: