Feeling Unremembered? Divine Preparation for Your Calling

The Undoing of Me:

“Mr. Umidi, you will need to have your lower lumbar spine fused with screws and rods.” It was the spring of 1993 and although this news was not surprising (having been previously recommended for surgery back in high school), I was optimistic this could finally bring substantial pain relief. I scheduled the procedure, and everything seemed to fall into place for a successful surgery.

Recovering in the ICU, I was on a morphine pump when I experienced an allergic reaction, sending me into Code Blue with a sudden and severe drop in blood pressure. While being attended to during this emergency, I had a near-death experience (NDE). As I hovered above the doctors, I witnessed them as they worked to stabilize me. I was fully aware I was outside of my body and pain-free while washed in bright light. I felt calm in the moment and fear was nonexistent. Was my NDE an indication there was a unique plan for my life or was this just a random event?

As I assessed my future, laying in the hospital bed, I couldn’t have imagined just how difficult the next few years would be. Unbeknownst to me, the surgeon used non-FDA-approved hardware in my spine that were “experimental”, and the screws eventually came loose within the first year. I found another surgeon who was willing to redo the surgery; however, the damage done during that first surgery was irreversible. I would end up having 4 spine fusion surgeries over the next few years, and, as a result, I felt my life slipping out of my control.

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