As I write this, most Belgians are staying at home, and the news is almost exclusively about the coronavirus. In two weeks, our lives have been completely transformed, and no one is sure how long it will last, or what the economic consequences will be. In March 2017, I sat on my bed in Gasthuisberg and thought about how quickly life can change. I had already seen much improvement, but I still had absolutely no idea what the rest of my life would look like.
UZ Gasthuisberg, March 2017
Tuesday, 8:30 am, Kapellen, late January 2017.
Maxentius, Constantine, the edict of Milan; a strange dream in the night before the battle of the bridge at Milvius; the complex relationships between Constantine, the church and the other gods in the Roman Empire.
Everyone is working well.
Twenty minutes before I need to round off.
How is it even possible that a simple dream can have such far-reaching consequences – for Christians of the year 312, yes, of course – but for the whole history of Europe?
Tuesday, 08:50 am, Gasthuisberg, mid-March 2017.
I’m just back from the bathroom.
It’s taken me half an hour and a lot of head scratching just to get myself washed and dressed.
And, of course, I’m not allowed to do it on my own …
How quickly life can change.
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