Everyone Needs a “Super Human” in Their Life

Over 15 years ago I had battled a series of 7 surgeries over a 5 year period. It not only took a toll on me physically but definitely mentally as well. I had gone from surgeon to surgeon to surgeon with each surgery ending in failure. After exhausting all local viable options in New York, I flew to Mayo Clinic in Florida to hopefully put my surgical woes to rest. Luckily, after 6 unsuccessful attempts, a mentor of the surgeon from Florida (who practiced medicine in NYC) performed what was thankfully my last surgery. It was a long 11 month recovery with a nurse at my home every morning.

By the time the treacherous and exhausting 5 years of surgeries was over, I had a problem coming off pain medicine. The sheer fear of being in pain, accompanied by my OCD, had me in a whirlwind of a situation. One that many people couldn’t comprehend.

I wasn’t a drug addict by any means contrary to the definition of a drug addict but rather someone terrified and paralyzed at the idea of change. It was a mortifying g experience that I knew I had to face.

I went to my primary doctor whom I had seen for the past 12 years. With my ocd, I had a hard time trusting people but he was a good soul and I was quite comfortable with him. He started me on my journey to healing physically and mentally. A few weeks into the healing process, he unfortunately suffered a heart attack while alone at his office and sadly passed away suddenly. I attended his funeral where over 500 people, whether friends, family or patients attended. He was a great highly respected man.

Once he passed away, I had to face my fear again and find another doctor. I was again paralyzed at the fear of a new doctor and the unknown change that would come with it. I called a few doctors offices with no success until by sheer luck I found a doctor that was rather local and reluctantly made an appointment. At first, I was tense and nervous beyond words at meeting her. I feared false judgment and was afraid at how she would perceive me as a person. I knew I was flawed but not in the way I feared outsiders would think.

After I explained my situation to her, to my surprise, she was the most understanding doctor I had ever met. She exceeded my expectations by far. It took months of trusting her and the process, as well as having faith in myself that I could change successfully without fear. She cured me. In essence, she saved my life. She even got me to seek help for my ocd and got me to take anxiety meds, which was a huge feat considered my fear of medicine in general. She had built this inexplicable layer of trust that anything she recommended I’d do, I did. I called her Wonder Woman.

After a while, I stopped going to her office, considering I no longer needed her help in that area of my life and i tended to shy away from doctors when sick.

Fast forward a year later and I found her on a social media site. I decided to friend request her. I figured “what did I have to lose?” So we started to become friends. We shared many common interests such as tv shows, sports, music, dance and more. We would talk all the time and watch shows at the same time laughing back and forth. We went with our families to our first football game ever together. That’s a memory I would never forget. We ran errands together, celebrated birthdays together and shared many meals together. She was just an amazing person and friend. My quirks and ocd were never too much for her back then and I was always able to be my “weird” self.

As time went on, we started to grow apart. I guess without realizing, we had both started to change. She was no longer looking to hang out with me or do things with me anymore and our texts became less frequent and more impersonal. She slowly started to become cold towards me. I took her change of heart and attitude pretty hard at first. I hadn’t understood why the sudden extreme change. I hadn’t taken into account that people’s circumstances and priorities in life change. Once since realized that over time, I accepted the “new” friendship we had. She was the first friend I had that accepted the real me. That’s a special “Super Human.”

One thing that never changed over the years however, was that she still remained Wonder Woman and upheld the “ Super Human” role. She always was there for me when I was injured or hurt or mentally in pain. She never let me down despite the change in dynamic of our friendship. She was still my support system. I never took that for granted.

After many disagreements and bouts of not speaking she urged me to seek therapy for my ocd and anxiety. I had tried therapy and medicine in the past but it hadn’t worked. Maybe I wasn’t ready? Maybe I needed that nudge and support to tell me there’s a brighter side to life if I stuck with it? So, I finally seeked out an amazing therapist that fit my needs and a psychiatrist that prescribed the correct meds to allow my brain to free and succeed in therapy. Almost a year later, my progress was exponentially positive. If I didn’t have Wonder Woman’s support, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. Am I perfect? Not by any means at all, however; I am for the first time in my life I am confident and proud of the person I have become.

Sometimes, we are blessed to have found a Super Human in our lives and I am definitely one of those people. No matter where life takes us, she will always be Wonder Woman in my eyes and heart. Friendships don’t always last forever just as people change through life and their priorities change along with them but if there is one thing I have learned in life it is that if your lucky to have found your Wonder Woman, be grateful and absorb all the positivity you can from them. Never take them for granted for they can be gone in the blink of an eye. I’d be honored to be someone’s “Super Human” but I’m glad to have my own in my life no matter the capacity. She will forever be the Wonder Woman who changed and saved my life.