Hospitalized, engaged, and freshly patented in just 2 weeks

“There are decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen.”

The last 2 weeks of 2023 were an absolute rollercoaster and resulted in huge changes in my life. Let me explain.

I wanted to take a different tack from some of the previous posts I’ve made in my Substack up to this point and write about a recent experience I had this past year.

In late October/early November last year, I had it in mind to propose to my partner, Janelle.

I had gone to a local ring store and went about customizing a beautiful ruby ring in 18k gold. I planned on flying to her parent’s place around Christmas, and asking for their permission prior to proposing.

In mid December, I started to come down with what I thought was the flu. However, after several days, I began to develop a rash on my body. Alarmed, I went to go see my PCP, who immediately advised me to go to the emergency room.

Turns out, I was having an allergy to a recent medication I was prescribed, a.k.a. Steven Johnson Syndrome. If you check out the condition on Wikipedia (CAUTION: not for the faint of heart), it’s pretty gnarly.

I am really lucky to have stopped taking the medication when I did. Blisters had started to emerge on my body. I was lucky in that after one night of being in the hospital with extensive monitoring and being blasted with anti-histimines, I was cleared to be released from the hospital. All that being said, I had still suffered some liver damage, with my liver enzymes 20-30x above the typical baseline. Between seeing a dermatologist, ophthalmologist, hepatologist, and getting endless needles stuck into my forearm to test my liver enzymes, and got the clearance last minute from the doctor to fly out to visit my partner’s parents for Christmas.

Some of the long term effects from SJS can be extremely detrimental, with ocular ulceration being one of the risk factors. I couldn’t have been more lucky to have avoided the long term consequences of the condition.

I initially had some slight doubt to propose right after ending up in the hospital, as I didn’t want that experience to cloud my judgement. However, I figured I had already planned on proposing to begin with, and I shouldn’t let that experience stop me from making my move.

In midst of all of this going on, I also had 2 AI/ML patents which I was responsible for getting patented. As the primary inventor, I was responsible for getting them over the finish line by the end of the year. After proposing that night, and going out for a celebratory dinner, I went through the final drafts of the patents, left some additional comments, and then a-ok’d them the next day, to cap off the year.

Update: I recently received my patent cubes in June 2024!

I couldn’t have been more lucky to have survived in one piece. If that 2 week experience taught me anything, it’s that life is full of ebbs and flows, and a lot can change in a short period of time. It’s important to enjoy the ride, never take things for granted, and to always give your best. You’ll be surprised what you can achieve.

Here’s to bigger and better challenges and goals for 2024!