Corey B. King
2 min readJun 27, 2024

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

I Match Energy

I wish that I were more timid and quiet. After surviving two strokes, kidney failure, and an aneurysm, I wish that I could just stay in a state of gratitude, and play nicely with others.

But the basic human condition will not allow for any niceties! The basic human condition requires that I match energy with those around me, so I don’t become a human doormat.

I can’t tell you the number of callous things folks have said to me when I inform them of my stroke recovery. The intrusive, insulting questions they pose, wondering what I did to contribute to my poor health.

If that’s not enough, let’s add to the list of people who have expected me to keep the relationship between them and me, going while I had a cancer scare, got on and off a dialysis machine three days a week, worked out three days a week to counteract the dialysis. Listen, my health is my #1 priority. I don’t have time to chase anyone to maintain a relationship, including family. Sorry, not sorry.

Last, but certainly not least, are the medical professionals. At my dialysis center, the nurses and the techs are infighting about the correct amount of fluid to withdraw each session, so I’m going to have to make an executive decision and take the matter out of their hands and have specifics placed in my medical records. The last thing I want to do is leave this earth, while they are fighting. My…

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Corey B. King

Writer, Professor. Published my second book, I Have Some Shit to Say, memoir/essay collection in 2018! You can find me on Twitter at @coreybking