Being a 9/11 Responder Today (Part 2)

Sorry, I needed a break after yesterday's intro. I hope you don't mind! :-)
If you missed it, click here to read that one first.

This Stolen Life
I used to try my best to pretend I wasn't that sick, and I was good at it. I stayed home a lot. I avoided friends and family. I pretty much began ignoring life. But then the day comes when you can't pretend anymore. My fiance eventually left me, my friends stopped returning my calls, I lost my career, my money, my house, my car...everything. Truth, my American dream was shot down in flames.

Zero to Hero and Back Again
I guess I felt like being sick was a sign of weakness. I couldn't cope with being ill. Here's a little more about me. I had never missed a day of work before 9/11. I was never sick before 9/11. I came from nothing; a humble background. My dad worked on a truck and my mom was a secretary. I built an amazing career in the music industry that allowed me to live free. I lived life on my own terms. I was a self-made man, self-reliant I did things my way or...the highway. I didn't take any shit from anyone. I didn't care if you owned the goddamn record company, if you fucked me, I was going to fuck you back twice as hard. If you tried to rip me off, I was going to slam your fucking head through a wall. True story.

(Yep, you're not gonna believe what happened next. Keep scrollin. Heh).

Who Are You?
Not long ago, a good friend of mine asked, "Mitch what happened to you? You were on top. Think of all the things you achieved...all your accomplishments. What the fuck happened to you, man? Who are you?" Fuck, if I know. Yep, my closest friends didn't even know how sick I was or that I was battling cancer and PTSD. My family knew something wasn't right with me anymore, but I didn't talk about it with them either, until a couple of years ago. I love my family so much. I want them to remember me like I used to be. Strong and healthy. Ambitious. Driven. SELF-RELIANT.

Never Give Up
I am back at zero again, but it's okay, because my stubbornness and my will to survive makes me who I am, and I'm not going to lie, 9/11 Responders are WARRIORS. I will never surrender and I will never give up.

No Fear
I don't care what this life throws at me, I am going to face it head-on. I am going to win. In fact, a few months ago (while I was in the lung transplant program) I started beating back some of these dreadful illnesses (thanks to friends who donated to my wellness campaign via PayPal and GoFundMe). In fact, my breathing was getting better and my pulmonologist, a lung transplant surgeon told me, "I wouldn't transplant you at this time." It was incredible! The doctor and I were very proud of this unheard of achievement. I felt a sense of relief that I can't recall feeling in my entire life.

The Eye of the Storm
Now this is where it gets weird. We had a major hurricane down here (Hurricane Matthew) awhile back, and I really wasn't feeling all that well when I took the last pulmonary function tests (PFT's), so I was shocked and amazed that I did as well as I did. My lung surgeon said that my lungs were finally performing above 50% for the first time in years, and that my lung age actually dropped down to 80 years old from a high of 94 years old! Not great but damn good. He also cautioned me that I was obviously still not out of the woods yet, and he was right. During the hurricane, I volunteered to help Red Cross Disaster Relief Services (You can check out the video about my service here: http://www.islandpacket.com/news/weather/hurricane/article110848392.html ). Yep, believe it or not, I stepped up again while everyone else was running away. I must be crazy. Haha. And just like September 11th, I had to. I had no choice. We were in a state of emergency. In fact, fire and rescue had been evacuated. As a 9/11 Responder, lord knows, I had the experience. I knew it might kick my ass, but how could I run away in an emergency?

Note: Of course the storm would literally touchdown in my town. To this day, reconstruction continues here on Hilton Head Island.

The Price
Then about two months ago, I had a major setback with my health. I knew I would pay. I also broke my toe during the storm and it would takes months to heal. As far as my lungs, my doctor had to up all my medication and put me back on Prednisone. Ughh. I was learning fast that natural cures could only do so much and the need for medicine as well the alternative treatments, the need for both, was the only way I was going to make it through this alive. Today, at this time I am still using both. And I am still here. But the World Trade Center program is strictly conventional medicine and does not cover any alternative medicine or any of the unapproved therapies (such as chelation therapy). The good news is a bunch of my friends helped me raise some money over the last two months and right now I am starting to feel a little better. How can I ever thank them enough? How do you repay the people that are literally saving your life? I do not know. I learned over the last two years that I would surely be dead without crowdfunding.
Let's face it, politicians love to use us and call us "9/11 Heroes" during their campaign speeches and pretty much every chance they get. Heroism gets votes! It seems everyone uses heroes for their own gain. In fact, Hollywood uses 9/11 all the time, but hey wait a minute, I thought a hero was supposed to ride off into the sunset with the beautiful girl?! Haha

I Love You STEEMIT!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it. I am really loving Steemit! I feel like this is my new home. I've made a lot of genuine friends online over the years and I hope to make a hell of a lot more right here!

Please upvote and follow.
Much love,
Mitch