Friday's w/ Dan #14

 After a week in the hospital, I’m recording from Brodhead, Wisconsin, where I’m staying with my parents and rebuilding my strength. In this episode, I talk about being discharged, starting AA, and reaching two weeks of sobriety. From quiet walks to waking up clear‑headed, I’m learning what choosing a new path really looks like. If you’re struggling, I hope this reminds you that change is possible and you don’t have to do it alone. 

@DanBackes-Omaha

https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1768323039635344d43bab5cf

Transcript

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Hi everyone. Welcome back to Fridays with Dan. Today I'm coming to you from Broadhead, Wisconsin, a small town in southern Wisconsin, the place my parents retired to. After being released from the hospital on Monday, we decided it was best for me to stay with them for a couple of weeks to regain my strength. It's crazy what one week in the hospital can do to the body. On one hand it saved my life. On the other, even walking for extended periods of time is difficult. I'm learning that healing isn't just about getting discharged. It's about rebuilding slowly one day at a time. So let's get into it. Monday morning I knew there was a chance I'd be discharged that day, but waiting for the doctor to actually come in felt like an eternity. Every time I heard footsteps in the hallway I'd look up hoping it was him, and it never was. And I'll be honest, I was nervous. My hemoglobin levels were still under seven, and that number had been hanging over me like a storm cloud. I didn't know if they were going to keep me another night or another week. Finally the door opens. The doctor walks in. A little small talk, a couple of questions, and then he says it Dan, you're getting out today. My face lit up like a Christmas tree plugged straight into a generator. After those long nights alone, after getting my vital checked, every two hours, after the fear, the fog, the confusion, I was free, or at least I thought I was. Because walking out of the hospital wasn't the finish line. It was the starting line. Now I had to prove something. Not to the doctors, not to the parents, not to anyone else. I had to prove I could stay sober. The first thing I knew I needed was a support system. People who understood what I was going through. People who were walking the same road. So on Tuesday I went to my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I wasn't really nervous because everyone in that room is an alcoholic just like me. But I didn't know how it worked or what the vibe would be, but man I was welcomed with open arms. Welcome, good to see you, thanks for coming. And the one they always say keep coming back. Since that first night I've gone to an AA meeting every single evening. I've got a list of people I can call if I'm struggling, or if I just need someone to talk to. It's a pretty incredible organization. And honestly, it feels like a family. After today, I'll officially be two weeks sober. That's two weeks of not hiding liquor bottles. Two weeks of not feeling the shame of being drunk at two at the afternoon. Two weeks of actually living again, taking walks, enjoying nature, cooking, helping my dad in the yard, running errands with mom. Two weeks of waking up with a clear head at a decent time of the day, without that fog hanging over me. And I'm not saying this to be arrogant. I'm saying it because I want people out there to know that there is another path. You just have to take it. And yeah, it's not going to be an easy path. It's uncomfortable. It forces you to face things you've been avoiding for years. But when you choose it, you're choosing to admit there's something more important and more meaningful in your life than the bottle. You're choosing yourself, you're choosing your future. And when you give yourself up to greater spiritual power, whatever that means to you, the bottle stops being the thing that controls you. I'm learning that every day, and I'm grateful for it. So I'm going to read from Second Corinthians chapter five verse seventeen. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. So I want to close today with two prayers that I've been carrying with me the past two weeks. The first is the serenity prayer. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. And we'll simply end with the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. So this has been short and sweet, but I hope you got something out of it. So I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you being here, and I thank you for walking with me as I walk this new path. This has been Fridays with Dan, and I'll see you next time.