Everyday Choices
Everyday, we have a choice to be positive or negative, happy or sad. The choice is ours. Circumstances have a huge bearing on our choices obviously, but, the fact remains, it is still our choice to make.
This past week, I have been to the hospital, not for myself, but for 2 of my friends.
One of my friends, Susan, has been in the hospital for 3 months! She has leukemia. When I walked into her room, there she sat with the biggest smile on her face, happy she had a visitor. Listening to Susan, I felt awful for her circumstances, and being in the hospital for 3 months? I couldn't fathom it. She suffers nose bleeds that don't stop, she has bed sores on her bottom from her immobility, and her legs are purple and swollen because of retained fluids. She is suffering physically, but she was smiling and happy and so greatful for my visit. We laughed, and chatted and for a few moments, I forgot we were in a hospital room. Susan is an amazingly strong woman and she encourages me.
Yesterday, I received a call from one of our friends, telling me that his wife had been taken to the hospital by ambulance. He thought she had suffered another stroke. Turns out, he was right. As I met him at the hospital, I could see him sitting beside Deb, lovingly stroking her hand, he looked very concerned. When I approached the bed, I took Debs hand and rubbed it to let her know I was there, she opened up her eyes and smiled. She had suffered a stroke 13 hours before, thinking it was just the flu, she experienced vomiting every time she moved, and a weak right side, and, she was unable to walk. By the time her husband arrived home in the morning from work, it had been more than 13 hours since her stroke! But there she lay, holding both of our hands, smiling! She was trying g to put us at ease! I was in awe!
Both women, suffering differently, their bodies desperately trying to recover from their physical affliction, neither one sure when they can leave the hospital, yet, they remain positive and yes, happy.
I have been in the hospital many times, in the ICU, more times than I care to count, and I can honestly say I was never happy! I understood that I needed to be there, but I desperately wanted to go home!
I have had 3 heart surgeries, due to a not so lovely genetic disorder. My heart loves to run marathons! I do not! After experiencing approximately 100 plus cardioversions, in 1 year, and not just 1 jolt, it usually took 3-4 jolts to revert my heart back into sinus rhythm. Usually, these were performed while I was concious and not under sedation. When asked how it feels, I say it's like those blow up punching bags we had as a kid, the kind you hit and every time you hit it, it bounces right back up. Only cardioversions are like being hit by a transport truck, bouncing back up to do it 3 more times! It is not an experience I recommend without sedation. After undergoing a few of these, 3 times a week, week after week, I was not a positive person! I chose to see the transport coming toward me instead of looking at it as a chance to live another day. It took a few months for me to be able to laugh about it. I knew I had accepted my fate when I joked with the nurses that I was contemplating getting a tattoo on my chest and back, "Place pads here"!
I know Susan and Deb are not enjoying their cucumstances or their forced stay, I know they want to go home as well, but they quietly, and patiently endure their convalescence to be able to make that journey, when it happens, as a healthy woman able to take care of them self.
That saying, by John Lennon, Life is what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans, is so true. None of us choses to schedule a sickness or disease into their yearly plan, and yet, there it is, a painful reminder to us that we are not always in control.
Life is precious, we have only 2 days in our life that are preordained, the day we are born and the day we die. All of the days in between, well, they belong to us!
We have an opportunity to do something everyday, we have the power to make our day, and yes, someone else's day better just by being there! I have said it before, sometimes not saying a word can communicate more than 10,000 words. A smile, holding someone's hand that has just suffered a stroke, or just sitting by the bed, while they rest, can all aid in someone's positive outlook and healing. Be a positive person, if not for yourself, for someone else.
Life, nobody gets out alive!
This past week, I have been to the hospital, not for myself, but for 2 of my friends.
One of my friends, Susan, has been in the hospital for 3 months! She has leukemia. When I walked into her room, there she sat with the biggest smile on her face, happy she had a visitor. Listening to Susan, I felt awful for her circumstances, and being in the hospital for 3 months? I couldn't fathom it. She suffers nose bleeds that don't stop, she has bed sores on her bottom from her immobility, and her legs are purple and swollen because of retained fluids. She is suffering physically, but she was smiling and happy and so greatful for my visit. We laughed, and chatted and for a few moments, I forgot we were in a hospital room. Susan is an amazingly strong woman and she encourages me.
Yesterday, I received a call from one of our friends, telling me that his wife had been taken to the hospital by ambulance. He thought she had suffered another stroke. Turns out, he was right. As I met him at the hospital, I could see him sitting beside Deb, lovingly stroking her hand, he looked very concerned. When I approached the bed, I took Debs hand and rubbed it to let her know I was there, she opened up her eyes and smiled. She had suffered a stroke 13 hours before, thinking it was just the flu, she experienced vomiting every time she moved, and a weak right side, and, she was unable to walk. By the time her husband arrived home in the morning from work, it had been more than 13 hours since her stroke! But there she lay, holding both of our hands, smiling! She was trying g to put us at ease! I was in awe!
Both women, suffering differently, their bodies desperately trying to recover from their physical affliction, neither one sure when they can leave the hospital, yet, they remain positive and yes, happy.
I have been in the hospital many times, in the ICU, more times than I care to count, and I can honestly say I was never happy! I understood that I needed to be there, but I desperately wanted to go home!
I have had 3 heart surgeries, due to a not so lovely genetic disorder. My heart loves to run marathons! I do not! After experiencing approximately 100 plus cardioversions, in 1 year, and not just 1 jolt, it usually took 3-4 jolts to revert my heart back into sinus rhythm. Usually, these were performed while I was concious and not under sedation. When asked how it feels, I say it's like those blow up punching bags we had as a kid, the kind you hit and every time you hit it, it bounces right back up. Only cardioversions are like being hit by a transport truck, bouncing back up to do it 3 more times! It is not an experience I recommend without sedation. After undergoing a few of these, 3 times a week, week after week, I was not a positive person! I chose to see the transport coming toward me instead of looking at it as a chance to live another day. It took a few months for me to be able to laugh about it. I knew I had accepted my fate when I joked with the nurses that I was contemplating getting a tattoo on my chest and back, "Place pads here"!
I know Susan and Deb are not enjoying their cucumstances or their forced stay, I know they want to go home as well, but they quietly, and patiently endure their convalescence to be able to make that journey, when it happens, as a healthy woman able to take care of them self.
That saying, by John Lennon, Life is what happens to you, while you're busy making other plans, is so true. None of us choses to schedule a sickness or disease into their yearly plan, and yet, there it is, a painful reminder to us that we are not always in control.
Life is precious, we have only 2 days in our life that are preordained, the day we are born and the day we die. All of the days in between, well, they belong to us!
We have an opportunity to do something everyday, we have the power to make our day, and yes, someone else's day better just by being there! I have said it before, sometimes not saying a word can communicate more than 10,000 words. A smile, holding someone's hand that has just suffered a stroke, or just sitting by the bed, while they rest, can all aid in someone's positive outlook and healing. Be a positive person, if not for yourself, for someone else.
Life, nobody gets out alive!
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