I can only imagine, because I have never had a near death experience- -that in that brief moment when the danger has passed and one realizes that he will not die- -there is an intense feeling of gratitude and a vow to go forward in life as a better person. I can imagine too that in the is moment, I would focus on the people who made me feel most loved, those I loved the most, or those times in my life when I felt the safest. I would probably feel guilty and wish I had shown more love, treated them better, and appreciated them more. I think Robert realized that he was, by the grace of God, being given a second chance. He could choose at that moment to continue his life as he had been living it; drunk, associating with a masochistic maniac OR be the husband Lily deserved and the father to the baby "waiting to live". How lucky he was to receive a do over! He didn't want to waste it.
he knew he wasn't quite ready, but he began looking back at how he and Lily met and what their life was like together. He slowed down on the drinking and stopped taking drugs.