THANK YOU

It has been almost two months since I suffered a ruptured appendix. While in the Emergency Room, I realized that the Emergency Room Doctor and the surgeon were working to save my life. I was later told by my surgeon that “You were going down, and we pulled you back up.” Also, my primary physician, whom I saw about ten days after my hospital discharge, shared, “You were as close to death as anyone can go, and you came back.”

My recovery is slow but steady. My endurance is low, but also, I am getting stronger by the week. It is now that I have the energy to really process and think about what happened during those 19 days in the hospital. In the past week, I have been able to participate in family activities that one could call “normal” times. And boy do I appreciate my normal.

This past weekend, we attended a Christmas party at my cousin’s home. It was being with those who love you and whom you love, doing normal activities. I, now, appreciate all the love on a much deeper level. I know how quickly it can all be taken away and how very special it all truly is. My cousin lives about two hours away, which has limited our time being together. We both are determined to meet up much more often.

We were able to stay overnight in a hotel near her home, which I hadn’t been able to do until now. During the drive, I was noticing the scenery and the other drivers, and was taking in how wonderful it all was. I felt blessed to be able to see the deep blue sky, along with the normalcy of the other drivers. It all is so wonderful and so good.

This experience has brought up so many questions for me. Why was I allowed to live, when so many others have not? Why did I have to experience this at all? Is this one of my life’s lessons? I know that I have learned a lot from this experience. I hope to never forget and to be forever thankful. For which I truly am.

THANK YOU

It was a life changing experience,
although I didn’t realize it at the time.
Now weeks later and much stronger,
the reality of it all is sinking in.

The gift of life is powerful.
Thoughts of what might have been.
Thank you God for letting me live.
So much I could have missed.

Knowing each day is a sacred gift,
love feels so much stronger.
Birds soar higher; the sky a deeper blue.
The magnificence of a normal routine.

Thank you God for all your blessings.
You grace me with tremendous love.
Aware of how fragile life really is.
Hoping to never forget.

Help me embrace my blessings.
Let others feel the love.
Never to take things for granted again.
Let me forever know.

Some lessons do come hard,
but thank you for teaching me so.
Appreciating the gift of life and love,
and to never forget
       to thank you God,
              again and again.