Good thread. Mark, so good to hear you are good. As Tom and Fivestringer say, the body is truly amazing in its ability to heal itself. And system shocks do teach us not to take tomorrow for granted. Mine was a diagnosis of diabetes 12 years ago. Told me I probably don't have as much time as many. Bucket list got written pretty quick after this. Done a lot of it too. Wikiloops is unexpected icing on a cake. Hugely satisfying.
The will got written too. Perhaps a bit morbid, but I feel it is better to have all the affairs settled and let those left behind fully informed of where everything is and where it should go. More so if there is a history of illness. And you don't need a lawyer to draft it, there are free templates all over the web. I am happy to help any Loopers here.
Death, like sh#t, will happen, most often when we least expect it, and I feel is best to prepare as best we can. Must be the Lawyer training, try to figure the consequences and look to have contingencies for them. One of those self help guru sayings from the past stuck with me; Plan as if you will live forever, and live like you will die tomorrow. Helps the focus.
Stubborn is good - in UK we call it being bloody minded, we will not let this defeat us. Dylan Thomas: We will not go gentle into that good night and we will rage against the dying of the light.
But in this it is also important to try and hear what our bodies are trying to tell us and adjust accordingly. Not advising anyone to go hypochondriac, but differences in bodily habits, unexplained weight loss or persistent pains or coughs need attention. We men like to be heroes about our pain. Is probably the main reason why women live longer - they go get it seen to.
I don't yet have the faith of heaven, but I live in hope. All I figure I can do is try to live and love this life and all the people (and dogs) in it as best I can. And keep praying we see them all again in any life that follows. Look to be kind. As Jodie Foster said in Contact, Each other is all we have. Amen.