Song Request: I Am Mine for Chicago night 1 9/5
Hi Pearl Jam,
My name is Zach Willinger, I am from Philadelphia and coming to see you in Chicago on September 5th. I would love for you to play “I Am Mine” on that day because of what the song and that day mean to me.
When I was born, I had a stroke which affected the left side of my body and gave me a seizure disorder that affected all of my childhood. The doctors told my parents that I may not walk and would likely never run.
The seizure disorder affected most of my life because I never when I was going to have one and was scared I was going to have one. I was also held back in school because of it. During this time, I was scared of having seizures, I needed this to distract/ calm me down, and this is where I found “I Am Mine”. I loved the lyrics and meaning of the song, it kept me calm in a very difficult time in my life.
In 2012 my doctor told my parents and me about a surgery which would completely eliminate my disorder. The surgery would be disconnecting the right side of my brain that was causing the seizures. I got the surgery on September 5th, 2012, and it completely changed my life.
Cut to later now I am strong, I am completely seizure free and off all medicine. Since the day of the surgery, I have moved to Philadelphia, graduated on time from college, and now I am at Temple University getting my master’s degree in Sport Business. “I Am Mine” got me through before, during, and after my surgery and is still one of my favorite songs ever. The song has so much meaning to me and my favorite lyric in a song ever in “I know I was born, and I know that I’ll die. The in between is mine. I am Mine”.
September 5th is going to be a very special day for me because it is the 11-year anniversary of the brain surgery that changed my life. I celebrate it as my second birthday. It is a special day for me because it is the day that completely turned my life around and hearing the song on that day will make an already special day that much more special for me.
I cannot wait to see you in Chicago!
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