Once again, the realization that water is a privilege came to me one day in our dining room after lunch when a Sister standing finished her glass of water before leaving the room. I watched her drink the water with a little envy. Recently I had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and place on a strict fluid and salt restricted diet, after a failed mitral cap repair. It was suggested that the mitral valve could be repaired through open heart surgery. I asked the nurse on the cardiac unit if they had many 90-year-old patients. No, she replied. That was incentive enough for me to graciously turn down the offer in that teaching hospital.
But what has stayed with me are the daily privileges life offers that I take for granted. One morning while recovering in the hospital in a room facing east, I was privileged to a most magnificent winter sunrise of deep mauve, pink, blue and yes, even green. I was in awe of its spectacular beauty which bathes the sky each morning around the world regretting the fact that most people don’t take the time, even for one minute, to set aside the daily stress and rest in this gift of sunrise. Funny isn’t it that the morning coffee isn’t truly savoured and appreciated until it is denied due to some unforeseen circumstance. Covid opened my eyes to privileges that I took for granted as a right: the freedom to stop by a friend’s home for a chat, an in person appointment with the doctor, a visit to a family member confined in an institution.
My unexpected illness has been a blessing in some way and has shown me that if I ignore life’s hidden treasures because I am too busy, uninterested, or unaware, I miss opportunities of showing gratitude, acts of kindness, and moments of surprise that may never be mine to share again.
Images: Unsplash/Jana Sabeth/Alex Gruber