Below is an excerpt from my book which has been in progress since 2006. I haven’t added to it for a long time but blogging has reenergized my passion for writing and I’m going to commit to working on it now.

On the eleventh of May, 1999, I woke up with what I
described to my mom as “the worst headache of my life.”
She talked me into going to school and I made it through
the day. At track practice we ran intervals: sprinting a
lap, jogging a half, and repeating several times. I fell
down a couple of times while running and I began to feel
significant pressure in my head, pain intensifying. I
decided to take a quick break and headed to the locker room
for a drink of water. Another student thought it was a
good idea and went with me. The pressure began to feel
overwhelming and everything started to go dark. I put my
head down on the locker as I softly sagged against it.
Reese asked if I was ok; all I could make myself say was,
“Can’t talk”, before collapsing to the floor. Blood gushed
from an ArterioVenous Malformation, it’s existence
unbeknownst to me. There was bleeding all over my brain.
_________________________________________

Body lying excruciatingly still for over an hour, I was
aware of the people standing over me, my consciousness
still on this plain. Debate ensued about where to take me,
and it was almost decided to transport me to a local
hospital via ambulance. At last, firemen who had received
recent training about closed head injuries came on the
scene and recognized what happened. They immediately
called for a Medevac helicopter. It landed on the baseball
field interrupting an ongoing game and I was rushed over,
rolling at top speed across the pavement on a gurney toward
the helicopter.
The helicopter lifted off, accelerating rapidly and soaring
swiftly toward Harborview Medical Center. Me, the
Scarecrow, surreally metaphorized in real life, skipping
down the yellow bricked path in the sky to see the wizard
in Seattle, the Emerald City.