2020 - Gratitude Day #16 - Good Medical Care

Gratitude Day #16

Today I am grateful for good medical and dental care.

Really. I should be dead.

I was born to a woman in her 40s. In today's world, that doesn't seem like much. In 1955, it was. Mom developed high blood pressure that would never leave her; putting both her and me at risk.

I had normal childhood accidents. But, I wasn't often taken to the hospital or the emergency room.

However...in my adult life, I have become a hazard to my own self.

I have been fortunate. I was the first in my family to be born in a hospital, where my mother received the best of care. She said it was the easiest delivery she'd had.

I was able to have access to vaccinations, which my parents were so thankful for.They had lost siblings to whooping cough, and had seen polio close up. My dad said when his brother died of whooping cough, he had never heard such a sound in his life. He never wanted to hear it again as long as he lived.

They lost so many in their families from diabetes...and, they all died so young.

My own children had good and gentle care when they came into the world. We were in a clean environment, and every measure was taken to see they had a good start in life.

Even through childhood, whenever there was a mishap, they were quickly cleaned up, fixed up, and healed up.

Fast forward several years, where you will see a photo of me taken just about twelve years ago. This was the closest I had ever come to death.

I had suffered a bowel obstruction in the spring, and it nearly took my life. I was hospitalized for a month, and was out of my head almost every day. After I was released, I had to be readmitted a week later for a collapsed lung. After recovering from that, I had to go back in again when I developed pleurisy in both lungs.

I lost so much weight that I almost didn't recognize myself when I pulled myself out of the hospital bed, walked five steps into the bathroom, put my hands on the sink, and looked in the mirror. I weighed 129 lbs. I was yellow. And, I had lost most of my hair.

The picture below was taken when Kerry had helped me take a shower, and to sit in a chair for about five minutes. I immediately had to go back and lay down, for those five minutes wore me out.

It took me a year to recuperate. There were times when Kerry asked me if I felt like going anywhere. Most of the time I didn't. But, one day I told him wanted to take our lawn chairs, some lunch, and little Mr. Eddie and just go sit under the pine trees at a nearby lake. We did. And, it was one of the most memorable days of my life.

I had a lot of time to think during that recuperation period. And, I decided some things. I decided that God had preserved my life for some reason, and that I was not going to waste one more day of my life on this earth. I had a debt of gratitude that I owed Him. Yes, it was the doctors and nurses who operated on me, cared for me, and pulled me through. But, it was Him who gave the the mind and the intellect to put their skills to good use -- on me.

So, as I sit here today, I believe it is nothing short of a miracle. I have lived through things that can and did take many of my ancestors and relatives away from this earth.

And, I am so grateful.