Fran, over at 
href=”http://stedwardsblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/where-ive-been.html”>St Edward’s Blog writes today after a serious illness landed her in the hospital in need of relinquishing one gallbladder. Her thoughts on the gratitude of not merely recovering but of the gift of awareness throughout her procedure (which included several complications) simply amazes me.
In any event, I did not eat for 11 days and I lost a whopping 5 lbs, most of it muscle mass from laying in that hospital bed. Great. Despite daily walks around the floor and my use of the Voldyne 5000 (sounds scary!), I still had some minor fluid and lung collapse to deal with. That is almost all better now and I remain as full of hot air as ever. (As is evidenced here!)
Frankly the whole thing is really a gift. Aside from the part that I could have become more seriously impaired or died, I have had some good lessons. Not lessons in that “nyah-nyah be a good girl and do it right next time” way, although a little of that, but mostly in the gifts of surrender, humility and interdependence.
As many of you know, my mother has dealt with illness most of her life. Recovery is not always easy and I had the opportunity to write about one of her more serious issues back when the Clint Eastwood epic Million Dollar Baby came out and how my father really went the extra mile for her on BustedHalo.com. Bill McGarvey, our respected editor always said he thought it was the best thing I have ever written.
A snip from the start of the article:
“Please kill me. I don’t want this anymore. Please kill me.”
Three years ago, just a few weeks after my wedding, my 74-year-old mother spoke those haunting words to my father while she struggled to recover from a risky surgical procedure to repair her colon. Doctors had only given her a 25% chance of surviving and after the surgery, her recovery was slow and depression loomed large. She spent her days in anxiety and tears while my father watched her lose her will to live. Still, he traveled every day to be by her side. He slept little and worried much.
You can read the rest here:
Recovery is never easy. We need teams of people to help others get back to fighting condition and many times people don’t have that kind of support.
In gratitude for those that have been support for others, today we pray.
And for those who have nobody to support them, may they know that God is able to be all that they need.
And for Fran, who blogs away despite gallbladders and complications. We are glad you are well again.