Don't Wait for Your Last Day (Monday Moment ep. 867)
Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary
John O'Leary
4.8 • 695 Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2026
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What would you do if you knew today was your last?
At nine years old, that wasn't a hypothetical question for me. It was my reality.
After being burned on 100% of my body in a gasoline explosion, I was given less than a 1% chance to survive the first night. Although I survived that night, and the following five months in the hospital, the prospect of death never faded. It felt closest, though, on the nights before surgery.
Because burned skin doesn't grow back, doctors had to take skin from one part of my body and graft it onto another. In my case, the only usable donor site was my scalp. So more than a dozen times, they took skin from my scalp and transplanted it, piece by piece, across my body.
Each surgery carried the very real risk that this could be the last.
To alleviate my anxiety and sadness, the night before became a celebration. My parents and siblings would come, we'd eat pizza, drink milkshakes, stay up late. Sometimes they'd bring gifts. On those nights, they did everything possible to diminish the fear and elevate me.
So let me ask you again: If tonight were your last, how would you spend it?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, my friends and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast Monday morning moments with John O'Leary. |
| 0:19.4 | We're going to kick this one off with a question. You're ready for it? |
| 0:22.1 | Buckle up. You'll need that seatbelt. What would you do if you knew that today was your last day? |
| 0:28.8 | Let me ask that one more time. I want to make sure you hear it just right. What would you do if you knew that |
| 0:34.1 | today, this day, was indeed going to be your last day on earth. |
| 0:40.2 | At nine years old, for me, this was not a hypothetical question. In fact, it was a reality. |
| 0:46.6 | After being burned on 100% of my body, in a gasoline explosion, I was given less than a 1% chance |
| 0:52.4 | to survive the first night. And although I survived that |
| 0:56.6 | first night on the following night and the following night and the following night for the next |
| 1:00.0 | five months of nights in the hospital, the prospect of death never faded. It felt closest, |
| 1:06.8 | though, on the nights right before surgery. Because burned skin never grows back on its own. Doctors |
| 1:13.5 | had to take skin from the parts of my body and then grafted onto the part that was burned so severely. |
| 1:19.2 | In my case, the only usable donor's site was my scalp. More than a dozen times, they took skin |
| 1:26.0 | from my scalp and transplanted it piece by piece across my body. |
| 1:31.4 | Its surgery carried the very real risk that this one, that this day could in fact be my last day. |
| 1:38.3 | To alleviate my anxiety and, of course, some of my sadness, the night before became a celebration. |
| 1:46.0 | My parents and my siblings would come by, we'd have pizza, we'd drink milkshades, we'd party, we'd stay up late. |
| 1:53.0 | Sometimes they'd bring gifts. |
| 1:56.0 | On those nights, before the surgeries, they did everything possible to diminish the fear that I faced and to elevate |
| 2:03.3 | my life. They made it all, if you will, about me. So let me ask you the question we kicked off with |
| 2:10.5 | one more time. If tonight happened to be your last night, how would you spend it? A big party with music, toast, a quiet meal |
| 2:21.6 | with family, sharing meaningful stories and memories, a long walk alone, maybe praying, reflecting, |
... |
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