Walking Spirit

It's funny, as I'm becoming more independant, returning to work, etc., I'm having a harder time coming up with things to write about. My everyday life is becoming more "mudane". That's not to say that things are boring at all. In fact, this past week I commented to a friend of mine that, as I was driving home from church a few weeks ago, it occurred to me that I had a big goofy grin on my face and may have been happier, at that point in time, than I've ever been.

As things are becoming more "mundane" I'm actually enjoying the simple things in life that I used to take for granted. Every moment can be filled with enjoyment if we don't let time pass by unobserved. What I mean by that is stop rushing to get to the next thing. You don't have to actually go any slower, just enjoy the journey and live in the moment. This doesn't mean you can't have any goals or dreams, it just means enjoy every moment as you move towards achieving those dreams.

Yesterday I had my final follow up with Dr. Sood in the Burn Unit. He looked at my skin and said that, unless I needed him for anything in the future, he wasn't going to schedule any more appointments. He also released me to return to work full time so, as of Monday, I'll be back to the daily grind. (Ugh, what was I thinking?!)

Before coming in to meet with Dr. Sood, the Social Worker from the burn unit had called and asked if I would be willing to speak with one of their current patients. A burn victim who had one leg amputated below the knee and one above. He's actually been in the burn unit far longer than I was. So, when Dr. Sood was done with me I went in to the unit to meet with this patient.

Imagine my surprise to discover that he was in my old room! As the case manager and the social worker were helping me put on a yellow gown (those of you who visited me will remember those) it occurred to me that I had come full circle. A year and a half ago many of you had come into that very room, wearing the same yellow gowns, to cheer me up. Now I was walking into my old room to help bring some cheer and direction to another patient who was dealing with very similar injuries.

The room had not changed much, he had cards and pictures taped up on his cabinets as I had. He did tend to keep the room darker than I had but everyone has there own tastes. Everyone kept telling me how excited he was that I was coming to visit. When I walked in he looked very agitated at first. I quickly realized that, like me, he had a trach (sp?), and they hadn't attached his speaking valve. The nurse took care of that for us and we spoke for about 45 minutes. I'm not sure how much it helped him but, hopefully, he was able to see through the pain to a time when he too will walk again.

After we were finished I stood up, walked out of my old room, said goodbye to some of the nurses and then took Mom out to lunch. The rest of the day was was pretty "mundane", but I enjoyed every minute of it!