If you have your health....a not so good turn in life...

"If you have your health, you have everything."  Those words are the ultimate truth.  My son ruptured his left ACL and meniscus.  He had to wear a huge, heavy brace on his leg and couldn't move around with it.  That's not a good thing.  When you're taking a long plane ride, you're told to get up, walk the aisle and when sitting, wiggle your feet and bend your legs to prevent clots.

As a result of wearing the heavy brace and inactivity, Ethan developed a pulmonary embolism and collapsed.  He managed to call a neighbor and that's when the drama kicked into high gear.  EMTs rushed him to the hospital where the docs found a HUGE clot that had broken into pieces which were meandering around in both his lungs and his leg.  He was told he was lucky this didn't kill him.

He is now on clot-busting drugs, still hospitalized, being watched, having tests  and generally making his mother's hair turn white!

What is amazing to me, though, is the incredible kindness of his wonderful neighbors and good friends who came to his rescue, got him the medical help he needed, took care of his personal stuff, have visited and helped with the mess in the house from when he collapsed, continue to help and give comfort.  Since Ethan is a vegan (and the hospital food people do not have a clue as to what that entails) his friends have provided food he can eat. These are extraordinary people and to them we are eternally grateful.  Friends and relatives who know about the situation have offered their help, prayers and healing thoughts. 

Mom, Dad and brother have all cleared our calendars to fly up to be with him on a round robin basis.  It's what we do, not only because it's right, but because we love him and need him to know we are there with him, for him and always will be. 

It's a lot more complicated than this but we'll get through this together.  And we are feeling the hugs, the love and the strength from all those who have let us know they are thinking of us.

EVERYTHING PALES

Absolutely everything fades into the background, waaaaay back, when one hears the words:   "This is Dr. ____________'s office.  We have the results of your __________ and would like to discuss it with you."  The anxiety rush and the urge to vomit is overwhelming.

That was over a week ago.  I am now breathing a lot easier.  But the experience of hearing those words really brought a lot of things right back into focus.  The saying "If you have your health you have everything," never rang so true.  Politics, jobs, world news, all outside interests, incidents, and experiences do not mean a thing when the question of your own mortality comes into being.

I see the world a bit differently now, just because of the scare.  But, that's probably a good thing.  I've been pro-active when it comes to my health.  Now, I am more so.  I offer the usual caveats about eating right and exercising but I add that knowing them and not doing anything with that knowledge is foolhardy.  We have only one life.  Make it a good one.