Things Taken for Granted

How easy it is to become comfortable with our lives and abilities. I received a referral at work yesterday to see a feisty young lady (83 I think). She is spry and I noticed one of the other therapists struggling to keep up with her on their walk around the facility. I think the therapist had to request a break around the second lap. The gait belt dangling from "Betty's" waist did absolutely no good as she was a good bit ahead of the therapist.

Talking to "Betty" you may wonder why she is in a nursing facility. She walks, talks, and is cognitively intact. She informed me that she planned to stay with us no more than a few days. It is always nice when your patient has the foreknowledge of how long their therapy will take. I don't usually give myself that much credit; I usually write my orders for 2-4 weeks.

"Betty" lives with her son and his wife on the family farm. She has a younger brother who helps with her care as well. Why is she visiting us? She had esophageal cancer and has been unable to swallow for about 4 months and according to family, she hasn't eaten much since June. She told me yesterday that she was very anxious about the prospect of eating anything for fear that it would stick in her throat and strangle her. I told her that we would just talk about it yesterday and that today we would venture into trials. I gave her a teaspoon of water, some applesauce, a fish cracker (the snack that smiles back), and a graham cracker. She was very surprised to find out that she was able to swallow these things without too much difficulty. Her eyes filled with tears and with voice breaking she thanked me and told me I had made a big difference in her life. (I hate it when my patients make me cry!) I checked on her later after she had eaten a stuffed pepper for lunch and met her brother. He said, "Is this the man of the hour?" I hadn't done much I assured him, only convinced his sister she could do more than she thought. Not every patient I see is this easy. She may turn out to be right about that few days though.

This brief exchange got me thinking today about the things we take for granted. She probably never thought about her ability to eat until it was gone. I don't. Are there things or people that we have become so accustomed to having that we take them for granted? Do we fail to recognize their presence sometimes? Do we fail to say thanks? Do we treat them as replacable? Do we take our wife, husband, child, or parents for granted? Instead of expecting those things or people to be there, maybe we should change our focus to being thankful to God that He has blessed us with them for now.

I wish I could satisfy spiritual hunger as well as I did "Betty's" physical desire to eat. I can pray that the opportunities are apparent to me in my daily course. It is not within me to feed spiritual hunger, that only comes from God, but I can point people to the right table, the Bible. I hope I don't take things for granted, especially the spiritual things; they carry eternal rewards. If I take them for granted, they lose their value for here and the hereafter.

I am thankful for family and friends and their importance in my life. May I never take them for granted.