Learning to Save My Life: My Journey from Near-Death to Ivy League Acceptance
By Michael McBryde King
Different: quite the apt word to describe my journey, but one that is uniquely appropriate. I am what is called a nontraditional student at Cape Fear Community College in the human service/substance use recovery program. The standard definition for a nontraditional student is one who has a gap of three to five years between high school and college. I repeat, that’s three years, not three decades. It's okay; that's your cue to laugh! I should explain why I had such a large gap between high school and my college career. Through a series of unfortunate events and admittedly poor decision-making, I began my decades-long history with alcoholism. It wasn't until the winter of 2018, when I was forty-three years old, that I decided to make a change.
For years, I had been stuck in a cycle of dead-end jobs and alcoholism, self-medicating to run away from life’s problems. Unfortunately, drinking doesn’t make the problems go away; it only hits the pause button. For months, I had been feeling off, low energy, bloated, and constantly gaining weight. I came to the realization that I was spending all my time thinking about drinking. I was sick of feeling sorry for myself; it was time for something different, something positive.
In 2019, for the first time in many years, I wanted to create a New Year's resolution: to take a break from drinking; what I didn't realize was that my body had other things in mind. During this “break,” instead of feeling better, I started feeling worse, much worse. Finally, it got to the point where, in late March 2019, I had to check into the ER. It was then that I was diagnosed with end-stage liver failure, a terminal condition. While telling me this, the look on my doctor’s face was as though I was fit for a pine box. Lying on my back on the ER gurney, I was informed about the MELD score. MELD is an acronym that stands for Measure of End-Stage Liver Disease: on a 30-point scale, I was listed as a 27, which means I was only three points from needing an emergency transplant. Over the next week, I received a series of five paracentesis, a procedure in which a needle catheter is inserted into the parthenium (fluid sac inside the belly) to extract excess fluid buildup. If the excess fluid is not relieved, a rupture could occur; too much fluid extraction could cause kidney failure or heart attack. That month, I received 15, at a total of 150 L relieved via needle catheter.
During my month in the hospital, I had what could only be called an existential awakening. With nothing but time on my hands, I realized I needed to make a change; fortunately, many people were there to help me. The nurses, physician’s assistants, and doctors were the first of many people assisting me in saving and changing my life. After my release from the hospital, I saw a series of doctors and learned that I needed a liver transplant; I was told a transplant was the only way I could save my life. I needed to seek professional therapeutic assistance to qualify for a liver transplant. Thus began my journey into professional mental health and substance use therapy at Coastal Horizons Inc. At Coastal, I finally started to understand what I needed to do for myself and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: help others the same way I was helped. I am happy to say that, as my mental health improved, my medical condition did as well.
After receiving my certificate of completion from Coastal, I took the advice of my therapist and began my pursuit of becoming a North Carolina-Certified Peer Support Specialist. To do this, I had to do something I had neglected for many years: complete my high school education. To achieve this task, I enrolled in the adult high school program at Cape Fear; after obtaining my high school diploma, I received training at the Harrelson Center and became a Volunteer Peer Support Specialist. While volunteering my services, I realized I wanted to do more for those I helped; to do this, I once again enlisted the help of Cape Fear and started the next leg of my educational journey.
Like many others, I have taken the opportunity to set the course of my life in a new direction. It is a direction that can provide me with a better, more stable income and provide others with the help they need to overcome one of life's most crippling obstacles: drug addiction and alcoholism. My life's goal is to give these people the support they need, not by providing them a hot meal or a shirt for their back, but by offering them the tools they need to make the right decisions for themselves. My path, or my tool, if you will, was CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) with the assistance of my therapist, a licensed clinical addiction specialist. Once I had an educated, nonjudgmental sounding board, I was able to make remarkable changes quickly. I was also able to help others in my IOP (intensive outpatient) group therapy by sharing my story and telling them about my previous thought process and how my decision-making abilities were evolving.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Take the Red Line to Columbia!
Last summer, I attended the American Psychological Association conference held in
Washington, D.C., as one of only 75 student volunteers chosen in the nation. While there, I took a one-day excursion to New York City via Amtrak and toured the campus of Columbia University. After my tour, I was pointed in the direction of the Columbia General Studies (GS) office; it was there that I met an admissions officer who was impressed by my academic experience, so much so that she gave me a Dean's referral. This awarded me an application fee waiver and expedited application review. With only three days, I gathered my letters of reference and transcripts and wrote my statement of purpose essay. Guess what? It worked! I'm proud to say that I will be attending The School of General Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York this fall! GO LIONS!
The fellowship and guidance I have received during my academic adventures can be summed up with a quote from Buddha: “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the single candle will not be shortened. Happiness will never decrease by being shared.” So be generous with your time, your patience, your understanding, and your love so that you and all those in your orbit can be happier for it! We are all beings of infinite capacity, infinite love, infinite ability to learn, and infinite generosity.
Oh, there's one final update to add. Less than a month ago, I had a check-up. My MELD score on the newly revised 40-point scale is an 8. As of May 2024, I no longer carry the diagnosis of end-stage liver failure; it's over. I am successfully off the transplant list. I officially have a new lease on life!
So, with that, I bring this chapter of my life to a close, but don't worry; there are plenty more chapters coming up—all we need do is turn the page. Stay tuned for updates, and don’t worry; I'll keep everyone informed on my new journey into the Columbia Blue!
About the Author
Michael McBryde King is a bicentennial baby born and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. Non-tradition takes on a whole new meaning when you're a nearly 50-year-old student who's surrounded by young adults less than half your age. Formerly a “high school failure” who is now an aspiring psychologist specializing in substance use counseling, he is proudly on his way to the Ivy League's own Columbia University in the City of New York! Go Lions!