Yep, this was me a little over 5 years ago. I was married and had accepted the fact that my weight would eventually kill me. But, in this picture, in that hospital room connected to all sorts of beeping machines and facing doctors trying to keep a positive outlook on my status...I made the decision that I wanted to live.
My wife at that point took this pic against her will. She protested and said it was morbid, but I persisted saying I needed it to remind me. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember this moment. I was a mess and figured that if I was going to die, I wanted people to know that I decided to go out fighting instead of dying like a defeated fat man.
I kept a journal in the form of a blog that I used to document both my frustration and my progress. Within 9 months, I lost 69 lbs. Within 16 months, I was down another 100 lbs. I fought and stayed on task, even when my wife left me, my car was repossessed and no job would hire me because of my health and the fact the economy tanked. I stayed focused.
That isn't to say that I made a number of mistakes along the way coming to grips with my new-found single status and hunky sexiness. ;) I even dealt with the humiliation of close family members not taking my commitment to better health seriously and accused me of using drugs while they were in and out of rehab for prescription pill abuse. I stayed focused.
Every challenge in life can be tripped-up with outside interference. I almost lost my way a number of times, and it was the following factors that I have realized along the way that kept me on track:
Faith - I am a Christian. I may not act like it all the time but show me someone who does and I'll show you a fake.
Family - People can still be family even when there is not a blood-tie. I have the coolest family!
Friends - I may be poor in the wallet, but I am rich in friendship. Straight, gay, liberal and conservative. Metalheads and hip-hop lovers. Christians and atheists. My friends are diverse and teach me something every day and they deserve the best person I can be in hopes to enrich their lives in return.
Music - Bushyhead's music is the most unlikely of musical journeys I could have taken. I am a veteran heavy metal bassist. I have performed over 900 times as a screaming, bass guitarist on stages all over the place. But Bushyhead's music is my purest, most satisfying and scariest venture I have ever pursued. It is inspired by heartache, struggles with weight-loss, financial ruin, extinguished family ties and starting over. It speaks to many situations yet ties everything I have endured together and defines who I am now.
At the end of the day, I can smile. I am in love with my life. And, not just life...I am in love now as well with someone who amazes me every day. It seems like it took forever to get here from when I started over in that hospital bed. But I am standing and I cannot wait to share what I have learned with others in hopes to save a life of someone who needs to see it is all worth fighting for, even when it looks impossible.
Vince aka Bushyhead
\m/ B! \m/
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