I'm John Centofanti.
One day in January 2018, I went for my daily run.
Shortly after I would become a cardiac arrest survivor.
I'm a writer and creative professional, as well as a husband, father and grandfather.
When your life ends in an instant, there's no guidebook to show you how to build a new one while you live with the effects of anoxic brain injury.
This is why I'm sharing my story of losing my previous life and my journey to build a new one I love. My hope is to help others who are learning to thrive, not just survive.
Thriving After Surviving: What Does a Thriving Life Actually Look Like?
After surviving cardiac arrest, my life was turned upside down, but I didn’t even realize it. I was in a medically induced coma for days afterward. When they brought me out of the coma, it was Saturday afternoon. I was told what happened. I didn’t understand at all the impact of it, but I thought I did.
I had no idea getting back to normal was not in the cards. Between medical appointments, therapies and crushing fatigue, returning to my old life was more of a fantasy. Yet, I’d wake up every day and tell myself, “Today is the day I’m going to crush it.” Except I couldn’t. I didn’t.
Anxiety and Depression: 2 Stages of the Same Struggle
If you’ve ever cared about everything and nothing at the same time, you already know what anxiety and depression feel like. Here’s what nobody tells you.
Anoxic Brain Injury is Like an F5 Tornado
Anoxic brain injury is like an F5 tornado. Imagine yourself standing in a pile of rubble.
Imagine someone picking up a piece of wood from the rubble, and asking if you know where it belongs. It’s nearly impossible.
The Gift of Unexpected Compassion
The friendly young man behind the counter asked if I wanted my tuna to be on a wheat, tomato, or a spinach wrap. That’s when things turned south for me.
Who doesn’t understand a wheat wrap? At that moment, I didn’t.
“I apologize. I had a brain injury, and I don’t understand any of this.”
I can have a conversation about something complicated one minute, and the next minute, not understand basic instructions. When he asked if I wanted my tuna on a wheat, tomato, or spinach wrap, it’s difficult to explain what I thought.