A Wake Up Call

Work has been a wake up call to me recently in so many regards. Here are a few of the things that have come to light:

1. Life is not infinite but God is good. I had a patient recently that left our facility for an operation, coded following the surgery, was brought back with the defibrillator, and has since returned to our facility. When I went in to see the patient I wanted to scream glory be to God. I was so so thankful that his life was spared. Seeing the burn marks on this patient from the defibrillator was absolutely surreal…how closely had he kissed death, walked the thin line between life and death. But guess what? God is good and it wasn’t his time to go. I really truly felt like I had witnessed a miracle.

2. My troubles and struggles are nothing compared to others. I’ve had another patient lately that has hit me hard. This patient spontaneously developed a condition that made her hair fall out, made her lose her eyesight, and made her originally completely paralyzed. While she has regained some of her muscle function, everything is still not back to normal. I nearly cried when I brushed the few remaining hairs on the top of her nearly bald head and as I delicately placed her head cover back over her head. It was such a raw moment; seeing her in a moment where she was very vulnerable. Then as we were getting up from the bed and I was asking her to move her legs, she broke down and began to cry. I immediately knew why; something so simple as getting out of bed was now a nearly impossible task. She started apologizing for crying and I comforted her and told her I understood. But I also reassured her that this is progress, before she couldn’t move her legs and now she could. I promised we would keep working and I would do everything in my power to help her get back to where she was before all of this. This situation really got to my core. How trivial my struggles and issues are compared to the things she is facing. And you know what, she kept talking about how blessed she was still to be here and how thankful she was that God saved her.

3. I better get my life right with God before it is too late. In both of these situations, my patients could have easily lost their lives and both situations were unexpected. Who knows…tomorrow could be my last day. We never know when our time might be up. Before now, I have been selfish and have not put all of my trust in God and have not been doing the things I know I should be doing. I’m a work in progress…I am not perfect nor do I pretend to be…hence why I am brutally honest with my posts. I realize my shortcomings, but I am working on them and working to be a better follower of Christ.

“God has already taken into account the wrong turns, the mistakes in your life. Quit beating yourself up and accept HIS mercy”