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When I was 13 and in 8th grade, I contracted a horrible form a pneumonia. At the time, I was a hockey player, planning on going to prep school, so that I could play at UVM, UNH, or one of the other bigger schools. I ended up being sick for three months. In the process, I added a ton of weight, while during the worst stretch I could barely go up and down stairs without losing my breath.
This wasn't your typical bacterial or viral pneumonia, it was called mycoplasma pneumonia. The doctors didn't know this, and seemingly couldn't figure it out. They tried all sorts of drugs and kept telling me I'd be better soon. But I was never better, it was always worse. It was terrifying. I went from great physical shape, to the worst shape of my life, while dealing with horrible symptoms on a daily basis.
Finally, the doctor was out one visit, and the nurse practitioner ended up evaluating me. We went in for some x-rays and the nurses and the practitioner put the prints up on the lit panel. They were shocked. They couldn't believe I was walking around and talking. They kept asking if I was sure I was all right. They told me I had only 30% lung capacity. I was constantly coughing "stuff" up this whole time, and for the first time I suddenly felt like this actually could kill me when I saw and heard their reactions.
She was confident that I had mycoplasma pneumonia and she knew what I needed to actually get better. Fortunately, this last medicine did the trick and I was on the road to recovery. Back to normal, right? How wrong I was to think. You don't just bounce back from this, you have to work through it. I was so out of shape, that I felt embarrassed even going to a gym. People were encouraging though, so I kept at it, even with lingering symptoms that lasted months more even after getting better. However, I was simply too far back for hockey.
I tried to play again, as the coach and team kept calling, telling me how much they needed me and how important this was for me. I knew it was, but I couldn't do it. I missed practically the whole season, was still massively out of shape, and couldn't recover from the skill gap that emerged. I felt like a clown on the ice, after years and years of skating all out at full speed, every second. It was one of the saddest decisions of my life to give up hockey, but I knew I'd find new things to love.
I ended up getting into music and making a lot of life-long friends I may have never associated with. It ended up shaping me to be someone completely different than I thought I'd be. In the end, I think that turned out pretty well for me.
Glad you are still in the land of the living! I had virus pneumonia when I was three which transitioned to pleurisy whilst in hospital, I have only a little recollection of it and am glad it is only a little, it was incredibly unpleasant. Like you I almost died, something kept me in the land of the living and I feel I am starting to fulfill that reason for being kept here. Glad to know your experience shaped you into being something ever greater too! :)
Scary stuff, I bet for your parents, as well. How little control we have over our own lives...