Why do bad things happen to good people
There is a saying. ‘Why do bad things happen to good people.’
This was certainly the case when I met an elderly lady in hospital a short while ago. She is 80ish and had a bad fall, breaking her neck and ending up with a full neck brace she would have to wear for up to 12 weeks.
She is one of those elderly ladies that refuses to admit her age and won’t use a walking frame or a walking stick, much to the disappointment of her daughters and her husband. I’m sure her daughters would have pimped up her walking frame, had she asked.
So as she waited to be released from hospital, sitting in her chair and dressed rather smartly, the time slowly ticked by, but still no sign of a doctor to authorise her release forms. And with every passing minute, her husband became more agitated and demanded to know why such a long delay.
The nurse did all she could to settle the family, but the way it was going, the husband was about to blow a gasket, and would have ended up in a hospital bed with a stroke. He had already suffered a stroke, and another one might have been his last.
After a much longer wait, a young doctor arrived, clipboard under his arm and looking very official.
By this point, the husband had obviously reached his limit and was about to give him a serve, and then the doctor began to explain the reason for the long delay.
It was a standard procedure to do a full body scan of patients of her age, for precautionary measures. Pausing for a brief moment, he explained that during the scan, they had discovered a type of cancer in her body.
That certainly took the wind out of the husband’s sails. As he looked at the doctor and back to his wife and family. I was in as much shock as her family.
She took the news in her stride and asked about the next steps as her husband sat there in complete shock. And then asked for the curtains to be closed so she could get back into her nightgown.
Her husband and family left after a while and said they would return another day to pick her up after more tests had been performed.
The fact was, she went into hospital knowing she had one serious problem, and then leaving with another major blow to her overall health made me think how lucky we can be.
When we are handed a second chance to life on a silver platter, we need to make the most of it.
Get out and smell the roses, take in the few rays of sunshine that are still about. Sit and watch the rain fall from the grey skies and see the heavy droplets splatter against the land as they leave their mark.
Tell the people you care about how you feel, as that moment may slip by in a heartbeat and they will never know.
So with Easter a mere bunny hop away, take care of yourselves and the ones who you truly care about. Every day is a blessing.
FantomWriter 