Worth the Pain: How Meningitis Nearly Killed Me — Then Changed My Life for the Better

Born at the beginning of the millenial or “me-first” generation, Andy Marso grew up believing he was smart, talented and entitled to his dreams. He coasted through school with minimal effort, but weeks before he entered the “real world,” Marso was struck down by a bacterial infection that changed everything. In this first-person narrative, Marso, a professional journalist who has written for the Washington Post and the Topeka Capital-Journal, details a transformative months-long hospitalization in which he fights for his life and then his limbs. By the time he leaves the hospital, Marso will face a choice: continue to grasp futilely at the easy, comfortable life he knew, or embrace a new life more challenging than he ever imagined.