Kyle Carpenter

But, you know, with that said, the world faded away.

I thought that was it.

And to my very unexpected and pleasant surprise, I woke up about five weeks later.

And instead of a hot, dusty rooftop, it was a strange hospital room with Christmas stockings hanging on the wall beside my bed and about three or four inches of snow outside on my windowpane.

Wow.

And but but that moment of waking up, my first thought was completely opposite of the last one that I had.

And I thought, no way I cannot believe I survived.

And but that moment.

You know, although I had three years left of a recovery, 40 to 50 plus surgeries, that moment really began this journey of self-discovery, purpose and perspective that I've been on.

It's crazy to say, but, you know, about 15 years now.

That was very well said, Ryan, and I could not agree more.

And I appreciate you recognizing that because I'm most proud of what I've done after the blast.

And whether that's the battle through recovery or all the way to the marathons or just continuing to push myself into that unknown, which I'm not bragging on myself for my story,

Yeah, absolutely.

And when I experienced those final moments and to wake up to this unexpected bonus round that I'm living now,

Of course, there are difficult days.

There are long, dark, scary and painful nights through the hospital.

And even out of the hospital, life is hard.

It's a hard earned journey.

But to have experienced those final moments and to wake up, I can't help but to not try to make the most of it.