So, yeah, I got pneumonia over spring break. And I don’t mean the “Oh, I might get a little sniffly” kind. I’m talking full-on coughing up my lungs, hacking up buckets of phlegm, and feeling like someone decided to host a bonfire in my chest. Add in a fever that hit 105—yeah, one-oh-five—and you get the picture. I was basically auditioning for the role of “Almost Dead Kid” in some tragic drama. Honestly, there were moments when I genuinely worried I might kick the bucket. Spoiler alert: I didn’t. Lucky me, right?
Then Grandpa calls, and the dude is damn near hysterical. I mean, this guy is usually as stoic as a statue, but over the phone? He was full-on waterworks mode. “Don’t you dare die on me, William! You’ll make it. I promise,” he practically sobbed. Hearing that from Mr. Stoic was w
