In the Bible, when people would have certain diseases, it was mandatory for them to yell "unclean" so people wouldn't get too close and become infected. Call it early infection control - it must have been marginally effective. Obviously more effective than our current illness inhibitors - looking at someone and noticing a watery look to their eyes, a red nose, a cough that sounds like it comes from their toenails and wondering if they are contagious.
Apparently I came in contact with someone recently who was ailing with a vile germ. On Tuesday, I woke up with a stuff nose and a little bit of a sore throat. No big deal! I took some tylenol, sudafed and vitamins and off I went to conquer the world. Wednesday dawned too early as most of my night had been spent searching for tissues in the darkness and ticking off the cat! I felt pretty crummy, but the show must go on. It took me longer to get ready for the day, but I bravely walked out the door clutching a box of tissues. Through our Wednesday church programs I tried to keep my distance and politely avoid people that looked healthy. Wednesday night the cat slept elsewhere and the puppy was left to endure the night with me as I tried to find a position to sleep where at least one nostril was unplugged enough to breathe.
Thursday morning I woke up, raised the white flag and called the doctor. At 11:00 a.m. I presented myself at the front desk of the clinic and squeaked out my name. I sat alone in a corner of the waiting room, waiting for the nurse to call my name. I knew I was in trouble when my doctor walked into the exam room and proclaimed, "you look bad". He must have been sick the day they taught bedside manners in med. school. My eyelids were red and swollen due to a sinus infection. I was wheezing from a nasty case of bronchitis and got a nebulizer treatment. I always feel like the Cheshire Cat when I suck on the nebulizer tube and see the mist go out the other side.
A quick trip to the Pharmacy and $175 later I was at home in bed, where I stayed for three days. I received many concerned calls and kind offers to bring over soup, fetch groceries and pick up supplies. I hunkered down and slept. My new satellite had been installed two weeks earlier, so I had 150 channels to beat the boredom. Even that held no appeal the first day or so.
Sunday, I officially returned to society. I felt 75% better, but it did feel good to be out among the living. I was still tired after showering and getting dressed, but that was one of the most strenuous activities on my agenda for the day.
I am still pretty exhausted and can't wait to hit the hay at a decent hour tonight -- maybe 8 p.m. I'm sure that I will be more appreciative of the days when I feel great after being sick. Right now, not so much. I definitely will have more compassion for my red-nosed, coughing, sneezing friends who cross my path. However, please forgive me if I keep my distance.
3 comments:
On February 4, I flew to Minneapolis and back. I don't know why but I always have a strong suspicion that I catch things while flying. It's probably because I have a little claustrophobia and I figure that if I can't escape, neither can those nasty germs. You're symptons sound so close to mine that I'm really hoping that you didn't catch my crud...but I really was a a good boy and stayed home when I felt terrible. However, if you want, you can blame your illness on Northwest Airlines. That's what I'm doing. I'm amazed that Belinda didn't catch this and that Grandpa seemed to bounce back after three days from his bronchitis. Of course, he does have the opportunity to sleep more than most of us.
I was happy to see your post on health and sickness so I could share a few thoughts I had in the DR.s office yesterday.I was sitting in the usual small room waiting for a second opinion on my lung X-ray.Lung x-rays are not on the top of my list of things I like,having been a welder 20 years and knowing part of that time I welded with asbestos mixed welding rods.My number one thought was the worst,of course.The Doc. comes in and says you have a short time to live.How sad that would be and many people are faced with that reality.I would really rather not be told.Those words would be worse than death.My thoughts bounced around from one thing I would miss to another.When my original Dr. came in to talk to me she said my lungs looked better than she had expected.I was relieved! But I was left with the thought of those who hear the worst.My heart goes out to those and yet there seems so little we can do.Jesus is the Hope they need and making Him a reality in their lives is necessary.There is a wide valley to get across from NOT knowing someone, to a point they will trust you and a gospel message you bring.Any Ideas,ways to bring hope to the hopeless.Folks out there need Jesus and we know him.How can they meet?Even those who know Jesus,would need the reassurance that He is the light in the darkest situation.To pray with them until they know,THEY KNOW,He is there for them.
Just this morning during my drive to work, a radio station was recapping how churches can really minister to people in these tough economic times. They reported that people are more willing to talk about spiritual matters when things look the bleakest. 1 Peter 3:16 tells us we should always be ready to give anyone an answer for the hope that we have. Now how to strike up that conversation is always tricky. Some people may not be opened to that talk, as you pointed out. In this case, I believe that actions speak louder than words. Show them God's love by what you do and the words will come. There are so many hopeless, hurting people out there. We need to step outside our comfort zones and let them know God loves them by the things that we do, not necessarily the words we say. And we always need to remember that the Holy Spirit ultimately does the work.
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