Back when I hung out here, as I remember, I was a bit of an arrogant little sh*t (as high schoolers who have some degree of talent often are), and I feel like I've tempered that a bit lately, especially within the last year.
Story time: last October, specifically October 30th, I nearly died.
On October 30, 2021, I had just moved into a new living space. Instead of college, I've been living and studying at a private music academy where classes and lessons are taught basically every day, and much more affordably than a college. So, I would get to hang out, participate in lessons (whether as a student or just playing in the lesson to assist), and be a part of the jazz community of Portland, Oregon. That day, I had gone grocery shopping, and beyond that, that's about all I remember. My landlord had invited everyone in my household (about 3 other guys) to all have dinner together. For some reason, I didn't come down. My landlord initially thought I was just being a rude 20 y/o, blowing him off like an ***. Then, about an hour later, he had the thought of "oh wait, what if Harrison is having a seizure or something upstairs?" When he came into my room, lo and behold, this is exactly what had been happening. I was unconscious, seizing on the floor, as the AVM had ruptured (in other words, a hemorrhagic stroke). In an instance that is seldom heard of, my landlord saved my life, calling the paramedics and getting me into the hospital.
I spent Oct 30 through Dec 6 in hospital and rehab afterwards, and I'm happy to report that I've made more or less a full recovery.
In the meantime, I was supposed to have a gig with my own jazz piano trio at Portland's jazz club, The 1905. The band got an excellent sub for me, and they turned the gig into a fundraiser for my medical bills. They even put together a get well video for me, in which many people, inside and outside my community, wished me well. Perhaps the coolest part, they even got legendary pianist Brad Mehldau to say get well. And, in raising funds for the medical bills, they collected a cool 20 grand or so, which has been a godsend to say the least.
Hope you all are well, and anyone who I was friends with here, feel free to reach out with a PM or respond here.
I didn't get that vibe from you.... you little sh*t.... lol. Quote I appreciate that, but I stand firm in my believe that I was a little sh*t.QuoteHeck, that is a life changing experience (and usually for the better), thank goodness you survived.It just wasn't your time. It is a real miracle that you are saved, so many factors came together to help you on that one! Some people will say it's just luck but to me it seems like some mysterious force doesn't want you to go just yet. QuoteYes, my mother thinks I have a guardian angel (and I can see why). Rarely do you get to hear of landlords contributing positively to society like in this society, but I'm certainly grateful. Additionally, once I was out of the hospital, he gave me several months of no rent necessary living. An all around great guy. QuoteAwesome! I hate hospitals, never have had to stay in there myself but sat, slept near the beside of loved ones stuck in there. What a relief it is to finally be out. QuoteYes, it got quite dreadful being stuck there for some 6 weeks. My playing suffered a bit, too, not really from anything neurological I think, but probably just from being away from the instrument for so long.QuoteHeck that is an amazing job, you must feel really loved and cared for by your family and friends that is such great news. I hear medical bills over in the states can get quite ridiculous, here in Australia we cannot really fathom how bad it is. Hope to see you around more Mr Richter, enjoy your 2nd lease on life it usually is like a rebirth for many don't you think especially if you had some kind of near death experience? Yes, thankfully I was still under the cushy health insurance of my former step mother (a public school teacher), so the bills came out to basically nothing, and the fundraiser money has been paying my rent the last couple months after my credit w my landlord ran out. The love of my community has certainly become incredibly apparent - I remember looking at the GoFundMe a lot in the hospital and feeling a very concrete sense of being loved. I also found a lot of grounding of who I was/am by listening to this particular concert that I did (shameless plug): For what it's worth, also, I feel like that video ^ is probably the single best recording of my playing anywhere.
I appreciate that, but I stand firm in my believe that I was a little sh*t.QuoteHeck, that is a life changing experience (and usually for the better), thank goodness you survived.It just wasn't your time. It is a real miracle that you are saved, so many factors came together to help you on that one! Some people will say it's just luck but to me it seems like some mysterious force doesn't want you to go just yet. QuoteYes, my mother thinks I have a guardian angel (and I can see why). Rarely do you get to hear of landlords contributing positively to society like in this society, but I'm certainly grateful. Additionally, once I was out of the hospital, he gave me several months of no rent necessary living. An all around great guy. QuoteAwesome! I hate hospitals, never have had to stay in there myself but sat, slept near the beside of loved ones stuck in there. What a relief it is to finally be out. QuoteYes, it got quite dreadful being stuck there for some 6 weeks. My playing suffered a bit, too, not really from anything neurological I think, but probably just from being away from the instrument for so long.QuoteHeck that is an amazing job, you must feel really loved and cared for by your family and friends that is such great news. I hear medical bills over in the states can get quite ridiculous, here in Australia we cannot really fathom how bad it is. Hope to see you around more Mr Richter, enjoy your 2nd lease on life it usually is like a rebirth for many don't you think especially if you had some kind of near death experience? Yes, thankfully I was still under the cushy health insurance of my former step mother (a public school teacher), so the bills came out to basically nothing, and the fundraiser money has been paying my rent the last couple months after my credit w my landlord ran out. The love of my community has certainly become incredibly apparent - I remember looking at the GoFundMe a lot in the hospital and feeling a very concrete sense of being loved. I also found a lot of grounding of who I was/am by listening to this particular concert that I did (shameless plug): For what it's worth, also, I feel like that video ^ is probably the single best recording of my playing anywhere.
Heck, that is a life changing experience (and usually for the better), thank goodness you survived.It just wasn't your time. It is a real miracle that you are saved, so many factors came together to help you on that one! Some people will say it's just luck but to me it seems like some mysterious force doesn't want you to go just yet. QuoteYes, my mother thinks I have a guardian angel (and I can see why). Rarely do you get to hear of landlords contributing positively to society like in this society, but I'm certainly grateful. Additionally, once I was out of the hospital, he gave me several months of no rent necessary living. An all around great guy. QuoteAwesome! I hate hospitals, never have had to stay in there myself but sat, slept near the beside of loved ones stuck in there. What a relief it is to finally be out. QuoteYes, it got quite dreadful being stuck there for some 6 weeks. My playing suffered a bit, too, not really from anything neurological I think, but probably just from being away from the instrument for so long.QuoteHeck that is an amazing job, you must feel really loved and cared for by your family and friends that is such great news. I hear medical bills over in the states can get quite ridiculous, here in Australia we cannot really fathom how bad it is. Hope to see you around more Mr Richter, enjoy your 2nd lease on life it usually is like a rebirth for many don't you think especially if you had some kind of near death experience? Yes, thankfully I was still under the cushy health insurance of my former step mother (a public school teacher), so the bills came out to basically nothing, and the fundraiser money has been paying my rent the last couple months after my credit w my landlord ran out. The love of my community has certainly become incredibly apparent - I remember looking at the GoFundMe a lot in the hospital and feeling a very concrete sense of being loved. I also found a lot of grounding of who I was/am by listening to this particular concert that I did (shameless plug): For what it's worth, also, I feel like that video ^ is probably the single best recording of my playing anywhere.
Yes, my mother thinks I have a guardian angel (and I can see why). Rarely do you get to hear of landlords contributing positively to society like in this society, but I'm certainly grateful. Additionally, once I was out of the hospital, he gave me several months of no rent necessary living. An all around great guy. QuoteAwesome! I hate hospitals, never have had to stay in there myself but sat, slept near the beside of loved ones stuck in there. What a relief it is to finally be out. QuoteYes, it got quite dreadful being stuck there for some 6 weeks. My playing suffered a bit, too, not really from anything neurological I think, but probably just from being away from the instrument for so long.QuoteHeck that is an amazing job, you must feel really loved and cared for by your family and friends that is such great news. I hear medical bills over in the states can get quite ridiculous, here in Australia we cannot really fathom how bad it is. Hope to see you around more Mr Richter, enjoy your 2nd lease on life it usually is like a rebirth for many don't you think especially if you had some kind of near death experience? Yes, thankfully I was still under the cushy health insurance of my former step mother (a public school teacher), so the bills came out to basically nothing, and the fundraiser money has been paying my rent the last couple months after my credit w my landlord ran out. The love of my community has certainly become incredibly apparent - I remember looking at the GoFundMe a lot in the hospital and feeling a very concrete sense of being loved. I also found a lot of grounding of who I was/am by listening to this particular concert that I did (shameless plug): For what it's worth, also, I feel like that video ^ is probably the single best recording of my playing anywhere.
Awesome! I hate hospitals, never have had to stay in there myself but sat, slept near the beside of loved ones stuck in there. What a relief it is to finally be out. QuoteYes, it got quite dreadful being stuck there for some 6 weeks. My playing suffered a bit, too, not really from anything neurological I think, but probably just from being away from the instrument for so long.QuoteHeck that is an amazing job, you must feel really loved and cared for by your family and friends that is such great news. I hear medical bills over in the states can get quite ridiculous, here in Australia we cannot really fathom how bad it is. Hope to see you around more Mr Richter, enjoy your 2nd lease on life it usually is like a rebirth for many don't you think especially if you had some kind of near death experience? Yes, thankfully I was still under the cushy health insurance of my former step mother (a public school teacher), so the bills came out to basically nothing, and the fundraiser money has been paying my rent the last couple months after my credit w my landlord ran out. The love of my community has certainly become incredibly apparent - I remember looking at the GoFundMe a lot in the hospital and feeling a very concrete sense of being loved. I also found a lot of grounding of who I was/am by listening to this particular concert that I did (shameless plug): For what it's worth, also, I feel like that video ^ is probably the single best recording of my playing anywhere.
Yes, it got quite dreadful being stuck there for some 6 weeks. My playing suffered a bit, too, not really from anything neurological I think, but probably just from being away from the instrument for so long.QuoteHeck that is an amazing job, you must feel really loved and cared for by your family and friends that is such great news. I hear medical bills over in the states can get quite ridiculous, here in Australia we cannot really fathom how bad it is. Hope to see you around more Mr Richter, enjoy your 2nd lease on life it usually is like a rebirth for many don't you think especially if you had some kind of near death experience? Yes, thankfully I was still under the cushy health insurance of my former step mother (a public school teacher), so the bills came out to basically nothing, and the fundraiser money has been paying my rent the last couple months after my credit w my landlord ran out. The love of my community has certainly become incredibly apparent - I remember looking at the GoFundMe a lot in the hospital and feeling a very concrete sense of being loved. I also found a lot of grounding of who I was/am by listening to this particular concert that I did (shameless plug):
Heck that is an amazing job, you must feel really loved and cared for by your family and friends that is such great news. I hear medical bills over in the states can get quite ridiculous, here in Australia we cannot really fathom how bad it is. Hope to see you around more Mr Richter, enjoy your 2nd lease on life it usually is like a rebirth for many don't you think especially if you had some kind of near death experience?
Topic: Friends, I return! 