He was Jet-Skiing with his family near a friend's lakeside home in North Carolina, when he went to dock the craft and came in too fast. Young Zeb hit the dock and flew off the Jet Ski and somersaulted in the air, landing on the side of his stomach on an adjacent dock's hard metal ramp. The impact sliced open his obliques, and Evans blacked out. His parents rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors stitched him up and kept him for observation. On his second night in the hospital, "I had crazy pain," Evans says today, "like a knife going through my whole body." The doctors thought the pain stemmed from the newly formed scar tissue on his abdomen. Then he started vomiting. He couldn't eat anything. Within days, Evans couldn't summon the strength to walk.
By the time a pediatric specialist realized Evans was suffering not just from the stomach injury but also a ruptured appendix, which was draining pus into his body and blood, his condition had deteriorated so much that doctors feared he would die if they waited even a day to operate. After the appendectomy, the doctors refused to sew Evans back up. The poison pus had to seep out first, through his exposed gut.
For two months, he lived with two tubes stuffed into his midsection. Every few hours, nurses would rip the gauze from his sticky wound, clean the site with alcohol, and press a new layer of gauze down. The pain of that, the indignity of the catheter, the unceasing hunger from his inability to eat-he couldn't help but feel angry, couldn't help wallowing in self-pity. But he also learned something he'd never forget about the fragility of life, how even a healthy 10-year-old kid could nearly die and then take two months to struggle to live again.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Inc..
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Inc..
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Karen Dillon
I moved my wedding to attend a company offsite. It was a terrible decision, but a vital lesson on balance.
The Ultimate Home-Based Business
Thirty years since her breakout on Friends, Courteney Cox is taking on a new role-entrepreneur.
An Uphill Battle
Zwift has been through layoffs and a leadership change in 2024, but co-founder and CEO Eric Min says he's learned that building a startup, like cycling, is an endurance test.
The GLOW UP
How Glossier broke free from DTC, survived the skeptics, and finally achieved profitability.
The Snack That Gives Back
With a new partnership, SkinnyDipped is supporting women founders worldwide.
A New Path to SuCCESS
AllTrails may have achieved the impossible-an app that truly helps you get away from it all.
The Back-lash Survivors
Don't challenge Elizabeth Gore and Carolyn Rodz to a game of highs and lows. The Hello Alice co-founders will win-by a long shot.
The Spa Surge
Prime IV Hydration & Wellness has successfully weathered stormy waters.
Riding the Waves
With Beehiiv, Tyler Denk built a buzzy newsletter platform and a brash online persona. Both are lucrative.
Home Economics
How Chairish brought the circular economy to furniture.