one-year anniversary

well, gang. it's a bit of a landmark date here in the life of phil.

exactly one year ago today, later tonight to be specific, it will be exactly one year since i had my ridiculous bike accident and smashed my face up.

hard to believe, right?

i spent about a week in the hospital, four weeks at home recovering, and about eight weeks with my jaw wired shut. i broke pretty much every bone in my face with the exception of my jaw. i still have five metal plates in my face that will be there for the rest of my life. it was by far the most difficult and challenging thing i've faced in my life. which, to be fair, says a lot about how easy my life has been.. because in the grand scheme of things, there are a lot worse things that can happen to a person.

the fact that i can stand here today and say that 90% of my scarring is completely gone, and aside from a few small issues, i have no lasting damage, is pretty damn amazing. i am so lucky and so blessed that i was in the care of some amazing doctors and surgeons and dentists.

in addition to this, i owe so much to my amazing family and friends. especially jenny and my mom who were by my side for so much of this. i can't begin to express the gratitude i have for everyone who helped during this crazy time.

so it's a year later and i'm quite relieved to have all this past me. all the medical bills have been paid in full and the insurance issues have finally been settled as of today. i can now officially say this is over.

i'm not quite sure what i am going to do to commemorate this occasion. perhaps a bike ride to the accident site? pour out a 40? or maybe i will eat a steak in honor of the months where i couldn't eat anything solid. or maybe as a tribute to my jaw-wired-shut days, i will go to smoothie king and get my favorite smoothie.

to all my friends who were along for that ridiculous event in my life, again, i can't thank you enough for all the love and support you showed during that time. it's good to have good friends.

it was a struggle to find a picture that wasn't totally horrifying and yet still kinda showed the damage. i think this is a good middle ground, plus, you have the THUMBS UP for positivity. that's me, being positive even with a fucked up face.