Text 464, 34 rader
Skriven 2007-02-25 16:02:33 av Ardith Hinton (1:153/716.0)
    Kommentar till text 463 av Bob Ackley (1:2905/3)
Ärende: Thought for Today
=========================
Hi, Bob!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

BA>  Having spent a couple of 3 day stays in a hospital bed,
BA>  wired to the wall, I don't recommend it for extended periods.
BA>  There's a difference between living and existing.


          Uh-huh.  Just after Nora's stroke we heard news reports about a plane
catching fire east of Newfoundland... and one woman (who was not involved) said
she'd been praying that there would be survivors.  I guess she didn't know what
condition a person might be in after being seriously burned and/or being dumped
into the North Atlantic!  I felt relieved that there *weren't* any survivors.

          Dr. Siegel is an oncologist, and his remarks are made from a somewhat
different perspective.  I can relate to what he's saying as well.  A person who
feels s/he still has something to live for is more likely to survive cancer, or
any other potentially fatal condition, than average.  It's not just a matter of
taking pride in having beaten the odds and/or outlived one's contemporaries.  I
feel sad for those who say they've nothing to look forward to once they retire,
for example... not so much because they enjoy their work but because they don't
know how else to fill their days... and die shortly afterwards.  I feel sad for
those who die sooner than they wanted to because others give up on them.  OTOH,
there are also people who hang onto life because they're fearful of death.  One
of our previous correspondents here had met people like that.  When Nora was in
treatment for leukemia Dallas & I often reminded her of the big wonderful world
outside the hospital.  We'd stop at a nearby park to feed the ducks after every
appointment because so many other things were off limits to her then.  And now,
umpteen years later, she is alive & kicking whereas many others aren't....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)