BARRY E. JOHNSON

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By Barry E. Johnson

Liver Transplant Recipient

3/10/2020

And one step further away from the night.  

And I felt a smile, return to its place  

That forgotten spot upon my face 

So I took a breath that split my chest 

As i shook off the pain, and all the rest. 

When my sweet child arrived to take me home 

By myself, but never alone  

As the light from the sun lead the way  

Away from death, into the new day.  

And my stumbling faltering little first step  

It wasn’t much, but it was my best  

The first step toward a brand new life  

A different way, free from strife.  

Now my mind wanders, as it often will  

This brand new chance, is it for real  

Cause I never noticed my tears that fell  

On that sacred ground, that I know so well.  

A forgotten flood, a lonely rain  T

hat marked those days of unending pain  

So I turned away with that small little step  

Into a future, I know not yet.  

On 3-10-2020 I was discharged from UCMC following my liver transplant. I remember standing up from the wheelchair and taking a couple unsteady steps towards my daughter’s car. I was stepping away from disease and pain, towards health and healing.