“I don’t remember what the yellow dog said exactly, but I do know it whispered something — something that I could understand — presumably in human language.”

"In mid-July 2025, I did all the driving for a 7-hour trip to Chatham, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod with a friend," the author writes. "It probably wasn't the best idea. Behind those sunglasses, my head felt as if it were covered by a pot lid."

The author directly after she had 18 staples removed from her head. "Ultimately, I had three craniotomies to remove the subdural hematomas, a burr hole surgery to drain blood from my brain, and a laminoplasty on my back to repair my spinal column and stop the leak," she writes. "I am forever thankful to my neurosurgeon Dr. Matthew Bender who is well-versed in CSF leaks."

"I was full of emotion as I rang the bell on my way out of Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, after nearly a month," the author writes. "At that moment, I did not know I would be back a week later to deal with post-surgery infections — a UTI and a staph infection that collapsed my left lung — that led to two more weeks in the hospital."

The author and her husband Jeff at a friend's daughter's wedding in Naples, New York. "We didn't stay late or do any dancing, but we were glad to be together enjoying friends and family," she writes.

Stacey Freed is a freelance writer whose work appears in myriad national trade and consumer publications, including The New York Times, AARP, USA Today, Real Simple, House Logic, Realtor, Zillow and many others. She is co-author of “Hiking the Catskills” and the former vice president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. When she’s not working she can be found hiking, running or baking.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost in May 2026.