Saturday, January 22, 2011

Health - It can be taken for granted

It's really funny how some things happen... Often, people take their health for granted, I know that I do. But as I sat in my bible study class on Wednesday night, I realized that I, too, take it for granted like the majority of the world.

Over half of the prayer requests where for someone who was fighting cancer. A few others where for people dealing with depression.

Tonight I went over to visit with my grandma only to find out that she is still fighting the pneumonia that she got before Christmas. Well, a relapse at least.
Most of my house was sick over the holidays for about three weeks as was my parents and siblings and their families too. The youngest ended up with RSV and then a bacterial infection of top of that.

All these thoughts have been brought on, really, because I have been sitting on the computer trying to come up with inspiration for a launch on eBay in March. For over a year now, I have listed at least one item for each launch and sent all monies raised to Hope For God's Children, the eBay group that coordinates the launches and finds the beneficiaries. Every one has had Neuroblastomia. The first one I did last year, the child passed away right as we were prepping for the launch. We went forward in her memory and was able to help the family. The child that we helped in May passed away a few weeks after it ended. I believe the same happened for at least one of the boys that they helped in the fall.

It has been heart-wrenching for me to see these children cope and move on. I have never met a single one, but they have moved into my ever growing heart.

But more than that, tonight I also found the care page for a dear friend of my father's. He is younger than my Daddy and I have known him for many of my adult years, we even go to the same church. His wife just finished up her last chemo treatments for breast cancer (she actually taught one of my kids I believe. K went in to the Dr for a lingering cough and the doctor ordered bloodwork when he noticed the white face and hands.... Bone marrow testing later and they diagnosed him with acute lymphoblastic leukemia! Less than a week before Christmas, he was rushed to MUSC for treatment. Daddy told me that the survival rate is not good but that it was caught extremely early so that is in his favor.

What it has made me think is, how often do we put off going to the Dr for repeat problems? I mean, I am getting over a four day long migraine and yet I have never talked to my Dr about them. I get them, although not for that long, but I get them monthly. Some months I have several and others not a single one.

I mean a friend of mine in Oregon had never been sick really and went to her Dr to find out she had a grapefruit sized tumor in her brain!

Tonight, I am grateful that I have good health at the moment. It can be taken from me in an instant. But thankful all the same. And thankful that I am able to use my talent to help others in need.

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