Joy

Once in awhile, you meet someone ever so briefly but they leave such an impact on your heart.

I came across a patient (I'll call her Joy even though that's not her name), who at first glance on paper seemed nothing out of the ordinary. A 42 y.o. female with a broken hip needing rehab after surgery. If anything, she seemed a bit young to break a hip considering the average age is usually closer to 80. On looking into her history, Joy had a c-section 11 years earlier and got a bad MRSA infection afterwards which lead to a traumatic brain injury. As I read it, I couldn't help but do the mental math that at my age Joy went to deliver a baby via c-section and came out with a brain injury which caused her to be aphasic meaning she couldn't really speak. Something so "routine" these days, leading to something so unexpected. This was not the part that touched me.

I call her Joy because of what radiated from her. On meeting Joy for the first time, her friend/"caregiver" was at her bedside. Her friend shared about how before going into surgery, Joy was more concerned about making sure her friend felt loved. As I was there, her friend expressed the guilt she felt on making Joy walk around for a day with a broken hip because the initial xray didn't show anything and the doctor's advice was to keep moving. She described Joy and her love for others, not complaining about pain, always having a smile on her face. Although we only had brief "conversations" together, Joy would answer thumbs up for yes and thumbs down for no, I could tell she was someone who loved and was well loved.

I read a book recently called "The Shaming of the Strong" by Sarah Williams. It's the account of her story of knowing the child in her womb won't survive birth. In it, it quotes a lecture about "self". How do you define "self" and what constitutes "personhood". Often, for me it's easy to equate someone with what they do, their abilities, talents, gifts, or personality. It's easy for me to find value in achievements, yet what matters? What if the self was more about the spirit, with meaning derived from a relationship with God? To quote Sarah Williams, "She could not justify her existence in terms of abilities, talents and achievements. But I had no doubt she had a capacity to respond to God. Her worth was related to her being, not her functional utility."

"If the self is a capacity for God, then it follows that for the self to grow it is not a matter of increased size or number of quality attributes or accolades, but rather it is about our responsiveness to God as a person and our increased receptivity to his spirit." It reminds me of Mark 8:34-35 and dying to self.  


Joy reminded me to value a person for who they are, their spirit. To see the world through God's eyes, with each person being his creation and a child He loves despite the outward labels given of "alcoholic" or "severe dementia" or "IV Drug User".

1 Corinthians 1:27-29
"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him."

Change

My fortune cookie today said "You will soon be traveling to a distant land." How did it know? As a kid, my family never took vacations anywhere. Most of the time, if I've gone anywhere there was a purpose - moving, studying, volunteering, weddings. I watched "The Hobbit" this week. There's a scene in the beginning when Bilbo Baggins is asked to join a group of dwarfs to reclaim their home. I could relate as he hesitated - Bags End was his home - his house, his family, things he was familiar with to journey with people he wasn't familiar with, it's hard to leave. I passed the 5 year mark of living in the same home for the first time in my life this past year. Change isn't always easy - sometimes it's anticipated and sometimes it sneaks up on you, but change is necessary. In a few months, I'll be starting a new adventure into married life. I'm looking forward to it! Really liked a sermon illustration I heard recently relating to the verse "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Lamps back in the day when the Bible was written probably consisted of a little candle that could only light enough to reveal only a few steps in front of you. In order to see more, you had to walk forwards, keep moving before more would be revealed. Take one step at a time.

Another Year is Dawning

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in heaven, another year for Thee.

 Author: Frances Havergal

Miracle

Don't judge a book by it's cover. I've learned that it applies to people too. Over the last month, I've been working on what they call a PATH unit. Essentially, many people on the unit are medically stable and waiting for a nursing home. Often times, the reason they can't live on their own anymore is because they have some sort of cognitive impairment, for example Alzheimer's or dementia, or they've had a stroke, or for different reasons trouble mobilising or completing activities of daily living.  Many of the patients have been "written off" so to speak.

Jon got transferred to the unit a week ago. He had been on the rehab unit; however, was deemed to be wheelchair bound and no longer had the potential to be a "functional walker" - meaning he likely would not be able to ever walk on his own again for any length of distance. Apparently, this designation happened over a month ago and they hadn't tried since then. Yes, this patient has a non-treatable rectal tumor and his days are numbered, yes he's been in the hospital since July and on rehab since September, yes his hip muscles are weak and not likely to improve - but is that a reason to stop trying? Jon surprised me. The first day I saw him, he stood up on his own in the parallel bars and walked 3 lengths. He then walked 25m with a walker. On Monday, he improved even more and walked 70m in the morning, then 100m in the afternoon, and has been improving since then. He still has trouble standing up, but with a higher seat and the right equipment set up he'll be able to walk at home. He told me he didn't want to move onto the PATH unit, but that it happened for a reason because otherwise he wouldn't have met me and would have gone home wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, however long that will be. I'm glad I met him. It taught me a lesson - don't give up on people, despite what the odds may be because some may just surprise you.