1 post tagged “humbling”

Today, one of my nurses told me that I had such a good attitude about everything that I was going through.  She said that I should start a support group for women who are going through similar issues, when I got done being sick!  lol  I told her that I don't think I'd be good at that because I don't have patience with people who whine and a lot of times, I hear women (and men) whine about their situations instead of trying to make the best of it.  The nurse said that that was why I would be good at it.  She thought I could bring things into perspective with other people.  I have the attitude that my illness is just a "thing".  It's really the way that I feel.  We deal with what we're given and there really isn't a LOT of time to whine and feel sorry for myself.  This is just the hand that I was dealt.  "If not me, then who else", is kind of my motto.  My bad ass attitude got put into place today.

Right after I announced how little tolorance I had with others, I went outside to smoke.  While outside, I met a woman about my age.  She'd snuck out also.  We started talking and I learned that she was terrified because the doctors thought she had lung cancer.  Her story started 5 years ago when she went to the doctor because she'd just been so tired.  She was usually a high energy person.  She thought maybe she was low on iron or something like that.  It ends up that she had hepatitus C, the deadly kind.  They'd given her 10 years to live 5 years ago.  More currently, Thursday, she went to the ER because she couldn't get rid of the flu.  It just wasn't going away.  They ran some tests and so far they think she has lung cancer.  Tomorrow, they'll do a scope on her to biopsy.  If the scope doesn't work, they'll cut her chest open to biopsy that way.  WOW!  Instantly, I knew that God was reminding me that I didn't know how other people felt.  I might have felt like this woman was whining because she went to the ER with flu symptoms.  God was trying to put me in my place.  I prayed for her.

On the way back up to my room, some very sad man held the elevator open for me.  He got off on the same floor as I did which is the cancer floor.  Out of the blue, he says "So this is the BAD floor, isn't it?".  I said that I'd heard stories of it being the BAD floor (meaning cancer floor) but not everyone had cancer that was on this floor.  He said that the doctors just called him because his 40 year old sister who has liver cancer had MAYBE 72 hours to live.  He started crying.  Now I'm thinking to myself "Ok God.  I get it.  I should have NEVER assumed that everyone besides me was a whiner".  I am humbled.