Saturday, February 9, 2008

Feeling Fine by Barbara Quinn

I’m feeling good as I write this. I’m never going to be twenty or thirty or forty again, and I need to drop a fair number of pounds, but I’m definitely feeling healthy. That feeling of well-being is priceless. I know what it is to be seriously ill, know what it is to care for the seriously ill. Health is a gift I accept with joy.

Like everyone else, I’ve had health issues over the course of my life. I only have half the vision in one eye. I broke various limbs in my youth and and nearly drowned when I fell through ice on a bay as a toddler. A horse threw and trampled me, and I fell off my motorcycle in college. I tore my meniscus and lost my ACL playing basketball and tennis. My thyroid went hyperactive for over a year which meant I woke with racing heart most nights. I’ve had positive pap tests, conical biopsies of the cervix, and suspicious mammograms. MRI's and CAT scans. I had a healthy son, and then had four miscarriages. For a time I lost the use of my right hand till they figured out there was dead tissue obstructing the use of my thumb. I’ve had a bout of Lyme disease. And so on.

I'm lucky that most of the things I’ve suffered were treatable or disappeared on their own. I have friends and relatives who were not so fortunate and I hate that they had to suffer. My illnesses were not life threatening. I had my melodramatic moments where I was sure I wouldn’t make it, but those were short-lived. So in living this normal life, stuff happened. That’s all there is to it. I appreciate my good fortune to be healthy and alive, and I’m thankful for each day that I don't need to visit a doctor or have another test or be painfully prodded in horrid places.

If I can get through the rest of this winter without getting the horrid flu bug that’s circulating, I’ll have even more reason to be grateful!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Having met Barb in person a few months ago, I'm not sure I'd agree that she could lose a few pounds, but I know what she means about appreciating good health. There is nothing like knowing what it's like to feel bad or have to limit activity to make you appreciate every minute of feeling good.

Angie Ledbetter said...

*clink* Raising a bottle of water to toast you over gratitude for good health!

Kathryn Magendie said...

Yes! *hi-fivin' it*

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