The nurse who had told me I’d almost died came back for a visit about an hour later. She was middle-aged and gave the impression of being compassionate but also very businesslike, as if dying was not a particularly big deal and you might not want to be overly dramatic about it. She asked how I was doing. “I’m okay,” I lied. “But I can’t believe I almost died last night. It’s terrifying.” She considered me for a moment. “Instead of thinking of it as something scary,” she said, “try thinking of it as something sacred.”
