New Respect

Blessed with exceptionally good health all my life, during the past two months I have been surprised to find myself  mingling with hospitals, doctors, labs and X-ray departments–the whole spectrum of the world occupied by those sick and disabled. I haven’t liked it. One thing it has done, though, is give me new respect for those who are chronically ill; diabetics who must test their blood and inject insulin every day–or even every few hours, those challenged by breathing problems, some to the extent they must cart around oxygen tanks, those bound every day to a wheel chair, those grasping at life by swallowing chemo pills and by routinely subjecting their tattered bodies to poisonous infusions in the hope their cancer cells will be destroyed before the rest of their body is.

Yes, I’ve thought anew of the blessing of good health, of a strong body, of faultlessly formed limbs, of a sound mind, and that I’m neither deaf nor blind.  I’ve decided for sure I want to be grateful for these sweet blessings…and to appreciate the extraordinary challenges many face just to make it through a routine day.