La vida es una

Yesterday I had three assessments to complete. That meant I would be meeting and getting to know three people experiencing difficult situations.

I visited two nursing facilities and one hospital.

The first person was a man that had experienced a tragic auto accident and was wheelchair bound. Before this accident he was a Karate instructor, a Ph.D. in Psychology and a mentor.

I listened as he described how he was trying to put his life back together.  The calmness and focus he presented was inspiring.  I truly believe that he will refocus his life into something marvelous.

The second man was in the hospital. He was but five years older than me. But here he say on the edge of his bed, wracked with pain from severe back issues. He looked like a man in his eighties. I remember one thing he said to me. He first asked if I had any children. I told him I have two daughters. He repeated to me: ‘Hold them tight, never let go.’ I could see in his eyes that he had experienced such sorrow in his life.

The last person I had visited was a woman in a nursing home. She has stage 4 lung cancer. She had never smoked in her life. I walked in and saw a frail woman that had endured the indignity of chemotherapy. She had lost all the hair on her face and head. Unlike other persons that had lost their hair and had covered their heads, she chose to display her beauty for all to witness. We talked with the use of a white-board as she had also lost her hearing.

I was amazed at her ability to create calm in the room with me. Our conversation was fluid even though I felt a small struggle with writing and trying to convey my thoughts, she had no such problem. I looked at her bright blue eyes as I was finishing up the assessment and saying (writing) goodbye. She said: ‘I’m sure we will meet again.’