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#WhatIWouldDoDifferently My heart goes out to United States Marine Corps Commandant Eric Smith today. There is not a finer human being walking the planet. He has been an essential encourager to me and many, many others. I don't know exactly what Eric is dealing with, but I dealt with something similar. After about 6 months back in the Pentagon, I developed a fever that would not go away...then vomiting...then extreme dehydration & delirium. When I went to the emergency room (way too late), my doctors ordered an ambulance and had me taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Why? My kidneys were failing. For 12 hours, a US Navy Officer Nurse stayed with me and injected six full V bags (he later said he had never done that). He flushed my system and saved my life that night. Despite more tests than I can count--and some of them were pretty unpleasant--we never figured out a root cause. My gut feeling: it was #workplace stress, and it almost killed me. I was in an experimental unit made up of people pulled from the Headquarters staff and Major Commands. They hated giving up these people, and they all wanted to see us fail. In meeting after meeting, we were on the defensive. But all the while, our United States Air Force was losing ground to #china, & our senior leaders looked to us to turn that around. The pressure was high, & I was reacting to it. That takes a toll. More than I realized. I had never experienced anything like it. I wish I could say that it changed my approach, but it didn't. I eventually had to leave, because I had hard data that I was killing myself. A major consideration for me: I learned that #airforce 5-star General Henry "Hap" Arnold (my personal role model) had four heart attacks in office. He died of the fifth one, less than four years after retirement. Stress is real. It wears us down without us realizing it, then we suddenly get waylaid with something big. Even then, few of us recognize it for what it is. I am praying for Eric and his family. His leadership load is more than I could bear. I pray for a full recovery. When that happens, I'm praying for a sustainable rucksack for him to carry forward...