Turning on the Light

The story of a woman whose "mysterious" illness takes over a year of her life. I felt like I had been completely absent. It was like coming out of anesthesia. It was as if I was emerging from a big blank. A void.I was waking up. And what I woke up to was hearing someone say, "She's sleeping." I knew they were talking about me. Was I sleeping? No. I knew I wasn't sleeping. Looking back on this now, I can see that I was at a turning point. I had to decide whether I would continue on the trajectory I'd been on, one that was headed straight for death or into a life in which I might not be fully conscious, in which I wouldn't be "me" anymore. Or would I decide to come back into the joyous, often underappreciated life I'd been living? Which was it going to be?