A True Story of Survival and Faith

There are moments in life when everything collapses at once—your health, your certainty, and the version of yourself you thought you could always rely on. When that happens, survival is no longer about strength or determination. It becomes about surrender, grace, and the people who refuse to let you go.

This is a true story of survival and faith, and it nearly ended before I ever knew how close I was to losing everything.

I didn’t see the warning signs clearly at the time. Like many people, I trusted systems, prescriptions, and the idea that if something was handed to me by a professional, it must be safe. What I didn’t understand was how quickly dependence can masquerade as treatment—and how quietly a life can begin to unravel.

Eventually, my body gave out.

I collapsed. I went into a coma. I woke up to a reality where survival was no longer guaranteed and independence was no longer assumed. Recovery didn’t arrive all at once. It came in fragments—voices at my bedside, hands holding mine, prayers spoken over me when I couldn’t speak for myself.

That’s where faith entered in a way I had never experienced before.

Faith wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t loud. It didn’t arrive as certainty. It showed up as endurance. As hope borrowed from others when I had none of my own. As people who stayed—day after day—when it would have been easier to walk away.

This true story of survival and faith isn’t about perfection or easy answers. It’s about the reality that healing is often slow, uneven, and humbling. It’s about learning to accept help. It’s about recognizing that survival is rarely a solo act.

I had to relearn how to live—not just physically, but mentally and spiritually. I had to confront the idea that surviving something doesn’t automatically make you whole again. Healing requires honesty. It requires accountability. And sometimes, it requires telling the story out loud so others don’t feel as alone as you once did.

That’s why I wrote Almost Gone.

Not to place blame. Not to relive pain. But to tell a true story of survival and faith for anyone standing at the edge of their own breaking point—wondering if anyone would notice if they slipped, or if there’s a way back once everything feels lost.

If you’re reading this and you’re struggling—physically, emotionally, spiritually—know this: survival doesn’t always look heroic. Sometimes it looks like staying. Sometimes it looks like asking for help. Sometimes it looks like letting someone else carry you until you can stand again.

I’m here because people refused to give up on me.

And because faith—quiet, persistent faith—met me in the darkest place and stayed.

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Almost Gone Robert B. Routt | A Memoir of Survival
https://www.robertroutt.com/

Clearwater, FL United States
Robert B. Routt is the author of Almost Gone, a true story of survival and faith that chronicles his fight back from a life-threatening medical crisis. Learn more at RobertRoutt.com.