This will be a long and rambling OP. The TL;DR version is "Things are returning to normal.".
The non-TL;DR version
I made a major milestone today. But before I share what that is, you need some background.
The people that know me best know that I have two great personal passions: exploring the wilderness and scuba.
In late September or October of 2011 I reached the pinnacle of recreational scuba certifications. I was diving eevery other weekend in the winter and hiking the myriad local wilderness areas in the summer.
The details are unimportant, I have spoken of them before, but that is not what I want to focus on. On October 19th, 2011 my life was upended by a medical crisis. I saw my future as bleak. I wanted to die. I stoppes caring for myself. My health declined. Another medical crisis in 2013, and a mental health crisis in 2015. Again, the details are unimportant.
I have dove only once since, clumsily, and I have not returned to the wilderness since that day in 2011.
Between then and a few years recent, I managed to pile on a lot of weight, which only compounded any hope I had at returning to a semblance of a life I loved.
I started a path of mental and physical recovery in January of 2016 that has accumulated many small victories, some major ones, and some the magnitude only a few people can appreciate.
I've been mostly well since then. I've lost 78 pounds, but that is merely a number. This is the first time I have successfully done so.
I almost feel like I've turned the clock back.
Today I fit into my scuba drysuit better than I did in 2011.
The non-TL;DR version
I made a major milestone today. But before I share what that is, you need some background.
The people that know me best know that I have two great personal passions: exploring the wilderness and scuba.
In late September or October of 2011 I reached the pinnacle of recreational scuba certifications. I was diving eevery other weekend in the winter and hiking the myriad local wilderness areas in the summer.
The details are unimportant, I have spoken of them before, but that is not what I want to focus on. On October 19th, 2011 my life was upended by a medical crisis. I saw my future as bleak. I wanted to die. I stoppes caring for myself. My health declined. Another medical crisis in 2013, and a mental health crisis in 2015. Again, the details are unimportant.
I have dove only once since, clumsily, and I have not returned to the wilderness since that day in 2011.
Between then and a few years recent, I managed to pile on a lot of weight, which only compounded any hope I had at returning to a semblance of a life I loved.
I started a path of mental and physical recovery in January of 2016 that has accumulated many small victories, some major ones, and some the magnitude only a few people can appreciate.
I've been mostly well since then. I've lost 78 pounds, but that is merely a number. This is the first time I have successfully done so.
I almost feel like I've turned the clock back.
Today I fit into my scuba drysuit better than I did in 2011.
