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.
Same Run. Same Route. Life-Altering Event.
On January 11, 2018, I went for my run, frustrated that I kept having to walk to catch my breath. I’d learn after the fact that I was having a heart attack during that run. I had no chest pain, and no indication that I should be concerned. It was no different from the previous 100 runs. If you had told me I was having a heart attack, I wouldn’t have believed it. I felt fine.
Being Grateful and Angry at the Same Time
Conflicting emotions aren’t rare or odd. They are part of life. What’s rare is to ever have a single emotion without another one nearby pushing its way into your mind.
I’ve learned that I can be grateful to be alive, and frustrated that I’ve fallen up the steps… again.
The Slow Crawl of Healing, Recovery and Growth
Whatever growth you’ve had, it’s never enough. The rest of life works that way, too. Healing from sickness, recovery, and growth in anything are so slow. It’s so slow, it can be discouraging, frustrating, even infuriating. It’s human nature: we want the progress to be fast, and fast enough to notice it.
I Believe It. I Need You to Believe It.
“Past performance is not indicative of future results” is good news for anyone facing a major life setback. Forget Your Past Performance Any advertisement you see for an investment firm includes the required disclaimer, “Past performance is not indicative of future…