Do you ever feel invincible? I used to feel that too and was living a very happy and fulfilling life with purpose before there was a pain I started feeling. And that was just the start. This episode is a little different and instead of interviewing a special guest, I'm the one being interviewed. In this episode, my very special friend, Kevin Monaghan joins us and interviews me on the "Fear Of Becoming Decrepit" which I got while being operated on for an Ostomy, which is a surgery to create an opening (stoma) from an area inside the body to the outside. The last months have been tough and slow but I see a light of hope at the end of the tunnel and I'm back stronger than ever. This is the first part of the two-part interview and we discuss what I went through and how everything started. When I first noticed that I needed help and the fear of becoming decrepit came into my mind. We also went through the procedure, how everything went with the doctors and how was the recovery process like. We also discuss topics like mortality and how much less time we have on this earth. This, and a lot more in the episode. Join us in the discussion. A bit about me (Dr. Orest Komarnyckyj): Dr. Orest Komarnyckyj enjoyed a prestigious career as a periodontal regenerative surgeon moving to a new passion in June 2018. He retired after a 33-year career to pursue new passions. At 69 Dr. Orest has taken on a new role as an Interviewer, Podcaster and government-certified Old Guy. He streams from his new home in Las Vegas, NV. He lives with his wife of 29 years, Oksana. His status as an empty-nesters with two out of college-employed children has left him with time and energy to share decades of successes, failures, and wisdom. Go to www.thestandard.academy/getmagazine to become one of the first to get my digital magazine for free that'll help you create a kick-ass life. Timestamps for the episode: 00:00 - Precap 01:05 - Intro 02:17 - Guest Introduction 04:26 - How was your life before you started noticing pain? 06:02 - How it all started 08:16 - What's Diverticulitis? 10:20 - Talk about surgery 13:50 - The procedure 14:50 - How do you feel before going into an operation like this? 16:30 - Why I fired the first doctor 17:30 - The two sources of pain 18:50 - The Diverticulitis pain 19:48 - Commercial 20:23 - Commercial ends 21:30 - Interesting hospital beds 24:00 - The day of surgery 24:40 - When did the fear of becoming decrepit kick in? 30:00 - Did the embarassment make you feel isolated? What were you feeling? 30:44 - Confronting mortality 32:30 - What was the bigger fear? Becoming decrepit, or dying? 35:30 - Did you feel like a burden? 37:15 - Did the fear of becoming decrepit make you want to try to be normal more than ever? 39:08 - Share 40:19 - Outro