A situation happened this morning that got me thinking.....
As I was waiting at the drive thru to get my boys a morning sandwich, the car in front of me was ordering a small coffee. When he was cheerfully given the total, he yelled "When the ^%$# did that go up?"
I was patiently behind him thinking "here we go again" . Then almost instantly I hear "senior coffee ! senior coffee ! senior coffee! Jesus Christ!" My eyes popped open wide, my jaw dropped and I thought where did manners go? If you have such an issue walk inside. Or better yetk, brew your coffee at home ! I did tell the poor girl who was the brunt of his tirade, she had my permission to "slap him silly" which made her smile .
Now I am normally one to walk inside, but since my boys ( furry ones) were with me I chose the drive thru. This restaurant is known for the longest drive thru with the inside being completely empty. Cars had even blocked the turn lane from the highway waiting for the drive thru.. Now I may be wrong, but that is lack of consideration and , yes manners. Not to mention illegal too.
I live in an area that is considered "seasonal". This means that senior citizens or snowbirds come here for 6 months out of the year and go home for 6 months. I have noticed that the older population can be a .. well bit cantankerous. This in turn makes me wonder, what it is about aging that makes some feel they can be rude to others. Is it childish regression? Or is it a right of passage? Whichever it is, it is now being spread to the younger generations as well. I do give the benefit of the doubt to many with the realization of what Alzheimers can do to ones personality, many others no way.
In High School I worked in the hospital and sometimes saw this "anger" in the disabled. Now this was before I was diagnosed with all my issues, but it still gave me thoughts. The main thought that we all have 2 choices in life.
1. We can either be angry at the world, and thus making everyone glad we're gone.
2. We can try our best to cheer others up and make their day, thus they be sad we're gone.
How would you like to be remembered?
If we're in a bad mood, what right do we have to ruin anothers day? Why can't we do or say something nice to help them smile and lift our moods as well..
The choice is yours...
Have a great day ! :-)
Hopefully this blog will be the culmination of all my years attempting to write a book about surviving an organ transplant. I've survived 3 organ transplants & have a pacemaker. Life is GOOD! I am truly BLESSED! Years ago I titled my book "At the end of my rope" for 2 reasons. 1.Physically: Being tethered to oxygen for 20+ years. Hence, the rope. 2. Psychologically: There are times when I literally feel At the end of my rope.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Sooner Than Expected
1:30AM and the morning person is up earlier than she'd like to be.
One of the protocols at my transplant center is if your temperature is 100 or above they must be called. As I looked at the thermometer yesterday in trepidation I knew what I had to do. The cough is wreaking havoc and the temperature is up, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach I picked up the phone.
It's times like this I'm quickly reminded I am not a normal healthy person, something a chronically ill or physically disabled person longs to be with every fiber of their being. In day to day life, I can sometimes push it to the back of my memory, to be hidden far away from reality.
During the call I was given the choice of coming to the hospital or starting antibiotics again. With it being a 4 hr drive one way, I seriously did not feel well enough to drive and Larry was at work. I chose the antibiotics, though a hospital stay and giving this Pseudomonas a strong kick to the curb is appealing. So I waited all day, not that I felt like going anywhere, meds delivered, nurse accessed my port -here I go again.
With this happening more frequently I can't help but wonder if this is the start of "the long painful road home ". I vividly remember the first time I started that journey. Many times I said, " chronic rejection was leagues worse than my original disease. Not that I have chronic rejection again, but one bad lung can make life miserable at times. With PPH I was short of breath, now I can't stop this painful deep cough. I'm reminded of a scene in "The YaYa Sisterhood" where a line is " you made me think I was gonna cough up a lung " I was offended by it and they way they parodied those on oxygen, but it's the one line I seem to remember.
I still have to make that long drive on Monday, with an overnight bag just in case. (I haven't had to do that in 8 years!)
Fingers crossed, no admission.
Drat! I forgot to ask if I could take Tylenol!
One of the protocols at my transplant center is if your temperature is 100 or above they must be called. As I looked at the thermometer yesterday in trepidation I knew what I had to do. The cough is wreaking havoc and the temperature is up, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach I picked up the phone.
It's times like this I'm quickly reminded I am not a normal healthy person, something a chronically ill or physically disabled person longs to be with every fiber of their being. In day to day life, I can sometimes push it to the back of my memory, to be hidden far away from reality.
During the call I was given the choice of coming to the hospital or starting antibiotics again. With it being a 4 hr drive one way, I seriously did not feel well enough to drive and Larry was at work. I chose the antibiotics, though a hospital stay and giving this Pseudomonas a strong kick to the curb is appealing. So I waited all day, not that I felt like going anywhere, meds delivered, nurse accessed my port -here I go again.
With this happening more frequently I can't help but wonder if this is the start of "the long painful road home ". I vividly remember the first time I started that journey. Many times I said, " chronic rejection was leagues worse than my original disease. Not that I have chronic rejection again, but one bad lung can make life miserable at times. With PPH I was short of breath, now I can't stop this painful deep cough. I'm reminded of a scene in "The YaYa Sisterhood" where a line is " you made me think I was gonna cough up a lung " I was offended by it and they way they parodied those on oxygen, but it's the one line I seem to remember.
I still have to make that long drive on Monday, with an overnight bag just in case. (I haven't had to do that in 8 years!)
Fingers crossed, no admission.
Drat! I forgot to ask if I could take Tylenol!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Blessed sleep
Remember I mentioned previously how refreshing a good nights sleep is? You wake up in the morning , stretch, and happily breathe in the start of a new day.
I've had one week without that dastardly cough waking me repeatedly during the night. The cough suppressants by the bed have been happily ignored! One week in almost 2 years ! Two pillows sit on the floor at night, when they used to join 2 friends under my head, forcing me to sleep upright, if I wanted to sleep at all.
Glancing at the clock and realizing you seriously slept is a beautiful thing.
Well, the pillows have gotten lonely and had clandestine meeting s with those cough drops. They will soon be back in their rightful places. My cough returned with a vengeance this morning! 5AM I bolted straight up in bed (vertigo hit too) coughing to the point of choking. Like an excited friend returning from the vacation of a lifetime, it has not stopped speaking since .
This does give me serious thought. Were those IV antibiotics worth the cost ? Was it worth me taking a nose dive into that Black Hole known as the coverage gap? My checkbook loudly shouts NO! But my throat, chest and mind are nodding a vigorous Oh Hell Yeah!
7 days of blissful sleep is well.......heavenly.
I knew 22 years ago this could happen, but would you trade that many years of life on a maybe? Me neither. Being chronically ill means your health is front and center a full-time job. We can take breaks & mini vacations, but will always return to our job.
Yawning, I lean back in my recliner and hope to get a 20 minute power nap - game on me vs cough.
I've had one week without that dastardly cough waking me repeatedly during the night. The cough suppressants by the bed have been happily ignored! One week in almost 2 years ! Two pillows sit on the floor at night, when they used to join 2 friends under my head, forcing me to sleep upright, if I wanted to sleep at all.
Glancing at the clock and realizing you seriously slept is a beautiful thing.
Well, the pillows have gotten lonely and had clandestine meeting s with those cough drops. They will soon be back in their rightful places. My cough returned with a vengeance this morning! 5AM I bolted straight up in bed (vertigo hit too) coughing to the point of choking. Like an excited friend returning from the vacation of a lifetime, it has not stopped speaking since .
This does give me serious thought. Were those IV antibiotics worth the cost ? Was it worth me taking a nose dive into that Black Hole known as the coverage gap? My checkbook loudly shouts NO! But my throat, chest and mind are nodding a vigorous Oh Hell Yeah!
7 days of blissful sleep is well.......heavenly.
I knew 22 years ago this could happen, but would you trade that many years of life on a maybe? Me neither. Being chronically ill means your health is front and center a full-time job. We can take breaks & mini vacations, but will always return to our job.
Yawning, I lean back in my recliner and hope to get a 20 minute power nap - game on me vs cough.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)