You Never Know

I can pin point the exact moment my stomach started to rebel.  Monday night about an hour after dinner I ate a piece of string cheese and was munching on some grapes.  My stomach started to feel bloated and I looked pregnant.  Then came the nausea and I lost my appetite for anything except laying down.  I fell into bed feeling run down and didn't sleep well making the next morning even more hellish.  I felt achy and slightly dizzy as I plopped myself into my car Tuesday morning to head for work.  I contemplating calling in but decided to tough it out.  Armed with my tervis tumbler filled with ice cold water which is the only thing I could stomach I tiredly drove to work.  I sat at my desk and logged into my computer wondering how I was going to make it through the day.  I couldn't focus.   Annoyed and defeated I finally just told my supervisor I wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home.  It just didn't feel like it was worth it to sit there and suffer.  I walked into my house around 11:15 am got undressed and immediately slipped under my cool sheets and went to sleep.

Before falling asleep I thought of my friend who had texted me a week ago that he had been battling a stomach virus for about 3 weeks.  "How ya feeling," I texted him.  Knowing that I probably can't feel half as bad as he's been feeling.  "Going back to the hospital now...to try to find out what's wrong with my stomach."  Poor guy.  He said he's lost 20 lbs already because he can't keep food down.

Mj came home from work and served me soup and 1/2 grilled cheese in bed.  I'd spent most of the day in that bed and laying on the couch.  I still felt a little on the crappy side and had hardly any appetite by the time I went back to bed that night.  I felt better when I woke up Wednesday morning.  Still a bit "off" but at least glad to be feeling "functional."  Around 4pm I get a text from my friend.  "I might have stomach cancer."  I am shocked.  He is under 40 and just retired from active duty military.  He was so excited about living life as a civilian and worked so hard only to have to deal with this?  You never know when life as you know it is going to change.

Life really looses it's luster when you don't feel well.  That day I was useless at work and that night I had little enthusiasm for anything.  I just wanted to feel normal so I could enjoy and carry on with my life as usual. Whatever mini  bug it was had passed and by Thursday I was feeling 100%.  I am back to my happy normal functioning self but my friend is still in the hospital.  He doesn't get to spend 40 hours a week at work.  When he doesn't get enough sleep he won't get to dread work and count the minutes until it's time to get off.  He won't hit that stupid traffic jam on the way home today and feel that nagging twinge of annoyance at only having about 4 1/2 hours at night to eat dinner, relax a little, and go to bed only to get up and do it all over again the next day.  I'm sure he'd actually be quite thrilled with all of those things right about now.  Things we sometimes take for granted.  It was just another reminder to me of how important our health is, how fleeting it can be and just how lucky I am to be well enough just to live my life.  Every aspect of it including the parts I complain about.

12 comments

  1. wow, my prayers are with your friend. you are so right, sometimes it takes a real eye-opener to realize how truly blessed we are to be in that traffic jam or having a crappy day at work.
    sending my thoughts to your friend (and glad you're feeling better)

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  2. i'm so sorry about your friend. we really can take our health for granted...we still don't have health insurance and are grateful each day we're not sick!

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  3. Wow....that is crazy, def. not the news he was expecting. I will you all in my thoughts and prayers.

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  4. Oh i'm really sorry about your friend. I can only hope for the best for him. People beat this nasty disease all the time.

    I've been unemployed for almost 9 months now and I thank God everyday that at least my husband is still working and can support us. I could be griping about not working but it could always be worse. We have to be thankful for little mercies.

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  5. So sorry to hear about your friend's diagnosis :( Having cancer sucks but the good news is that modern medicine has advanced to the point where people are cured of cancer every day. I pray that one lovely day your friend will be able to tell everyone the story of how he survived cancer.

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  6. Cancer is a bear...I pray that your friend gets amazing care.

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  7. Sorry to hear about your friend. My prayers are with him.

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  8. Sorry to hear that.... And you're right we do take things for granted sometimes.

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  9. Although I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm terribly sorry for your friend. I hope he's feeling strong as well.

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  10. aww my heart just sunk when I read those words. I'm sorry your friend has to go through all of that. I'm glad your feeling better though.

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  11. that is horible and so true. you just never know. it is amazing the lil things we take for granted. those lil things can be something huge to someone else. thanks for the reminder.

    sending prayers for your friend & glad you are well.

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