Thinking nothing of an epileptic seizure, my carefree and single-thinking lifestyle continued as usual. That was until the results of the scan. A brain tumour stopped me in my tracks. Suddenly I had to rely on others. Moving out of my crime-ridden area was supposed to be a positive move towards recovery following the most mind bending experience of "awake" brain surgery. But Sarah and I couldn't have been more wrong. Our new home was in the flat beneath the neighbours from hell. Radiotherapy may have been easy if it hadn't been for the scum determined to make our lives a misery, sending me to the brink of despair. With a lifestyle that featured an unhealthy amount of alcohol and facing up to my addictions and self-loathing, the early grave was looking more likely than the millionaire life I dreamed of.
Getting back to work and experiencing new cultures helped to put me back on track. Rather than dwell on my own self-pity I drew inspiration from the world and people around me until finally I'd gotten hold of a normal life. A normal life that didn't last long. The townships in Africa, the petrol bombings, murders and car crashes that I'd witnessed in such a small space of time; none of them came close to the next chapter in my life. Finding out I would be a dad was one thing, but triplets? The path forward from there on in would prove to be chaotic but truly magical. The joys of a becoming a triplet father from that astonishing moment of the baby scan through to the events of the birth and beyond, coupled with the devastating deaths of good friends taught me the true meaning of life.
But all that was the easy bit...
