Knockdown Fastballs: The Myth of Invincibility Deconstructed

Hmmm, it seems I was long overdue for a reality check concerning my superhero fantasy.

We are gifted in our youth with the belief that we are invincible – possessed of a preternatural ability to dodge the numerous knockdown fastballs that life throws at us as an inevitable consequence of living. This belief is, of course, an illusion. The natural laws of life eventually catch up with us and claim their pound of flesh.

(Knockdown fastball: In the sport of baseball, a pitcher will occasionally throw directly at a batter in retaliation for an aggressive act by a player on the opposing team.)

I should have learned this lesson when my chronic back issues become too persistent and severe to disregard. I did relent and commit to weekly chiropractic treatments. But this is my one thing, I told myself. In all other respects, I remain untouchable.

Then I began to experience digestive system issues which advanced to more serious episodes. Reluctantly, I conceded I needed help and sought out medical guidance. I found a good naturopath, identified food sensitivities and, with some unwelcome motivations, cleaned up my indulgent eating habits.

Okay, that is it, I told myself. A couple of vulnerabilities shored up. All will be clear from here. Alas, I was still bargaining with fate when the big one hit. I will spare you the play-by-play other than to say it involved excruciating abdominal pain that landed me in the hospital by ambulance.

Diagnosis: Volvulus, aka twisted colon requiring surgery. Little did I know, another knockdown fastball was already heading my way. The day before surgery a coughing spell caused me to aspirate resulting in aspiration phenomena. My surgery was delayed by two days in ICU and another four days back in the surgery ward to recover.

I finally had the 2+ hour surgery a week and a half after entering the hospital. Another week in the hospital and now home recuperating for a few weeks.

The struggles of my hospital stay were mitigated somewhat by great nurses and the unwavering support of family and friends. But honestly, I would rather have been almost anywhere else. Close to the three weeks confined to a hospital bed and the halls of the surgery ward tested my patience to its limits.

So, with due humility, I confess: I am not invincible or immune. Nor am I a superhero with special powers of overnight recovery. Where the world of metaphor meets the real feet-on-the-ground world, knockdown fastballs have my number and I cannot always evade them. It is a sobering reality.

On the plus side, I learned many valuable lessons from this unpleasant experience. I have emerged on the other side a bit wiser and with a more realistic outlook on life.

~ Coming in October 2017: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills: An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

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