This is an art piece my niece, Jane, did for me while I was in the hospital. I’ll explain below.

You may recognize this image. It was made from the picture taken before dinner with friends. My niece made this for me and attached the phrase as an encouragement in the hospital. I had been thinking for years, after experiencing an empty nest, that I had kind of lost some of my substance and grit and some of who I was. I wondered if I could do hard things. I ran and hiked and painted and organized, but could I do really hard things? That is what I wondered. I found out after having a drain installed in my head without anesthesia that I was tough. Tough wasn’t a big enough word. It didn’t say what I felt and experienced. I realized after coming out of that procedure where they drilled into my head, that I was indeed tough, but more importantly I was a "baddass”. I was on no filter medicines galore, so I used the word with confidence. I had no trouble calling myself a “badass”. I had experienced a week of “hard” things, so I felt worthy of the title. That’s why Jane created the image. It was framed and was displayed in my hospital and rehab rooms. My surgeon even took s picture with his own phone. I’m assuming he shows it to patients with negative attitudes. Attitude its everything where I’ve been!