My friend saved my life. I am so indebted to this soul for such a gracious act that I'm not even sure how to thank him. But wait a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself.

A couple of weeks ago I was scheduled for what I was told was routine surgery. As far as I know, surgery is surgery and with this being my first surgery, I didn't really consider this to be that routine. I arrived there at my scheduled time, and of course the nurses took me through their round of questioning. One question that made me take a conscious step back was "Do you have a living will?" I thought: What do I need that for? Haven't you trained professionals done this before? After all it is a routine procedure right? A side note: At that exact moment when they asked me this question I realized that all of the medical personnel surrounding me were dressed alike/ (Is that so that I wouldn't be able to identify them later if need be?) Something to think about, right?

Anyway, I answered "No" and they proceeded with their paperwork. A few minutes later I was in the operating room staring up at a bright light. All that I could think about was that I've seen this scene played out so many times on television. But this was real, It was my turn and hopefully not my time.

After what seemed like hours, I awoke. "Woohoo, I'm alive." The staff that surrounded me assured me that everything went according to plan. I tried looking for that "living will" lady, but of course I couldn't ID her . She really had me

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going for a minute, but I was fine, ha-ha. Before I was set free to live my life to the fullest, I was given a set of rules and guidelines to follow for the next couple of days or so. The nurse went over the discharge papers and instructions with a fine-tooth comb and made sure that I understood what to do and what not to do. First thing's first: Get the prescription filled.

While at home trying to recuperate, my neighbor offered to pick up some things for me. She arrived with my much-anticipated medication and I was more than eager to take it.

Here's where the saving my life from my friend came into play: I didn't have my glasses on at this time. Luckily, he was with me when I was being released from the hospital. He noticed that the pills that I was about to take were not the ones listed on my discharge papers. What did he mean? I was totally confused. I was still a little groggy.

After a series of phone calls back and forth to my doctor, Bridgeport Hospital and Walgreen's. I was strongly advised — DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION. Somewhere along the line the prescription that I received was not the one that I was supposed to take. I won't point fingers, but I'm sure that my doctor didn't make a mistake.

Joy James is a paginator for the Connecticut Post.