reach out to someone today!

 


I was at the hospital yesterday for tests. There was a one hour wait between testings, so I would be wheeled out to the waiting room or the cafeteria until the next one. As I sat, I people watched. I noticed how everyone else there had at least one other person with them, while I was all by myself. I began to feel lonely, but tried to make the best of it. I didn't have a book or magazine with me and in a way was glad for that, too. I thought to myself of folks in nursing homes, how lonely their lives must be! I knew I'd be done in just a few hours, but they have the rest of their lives to ponder their fate. I began to feel even more isolated. I made eye contact with several folks who would just give me a glance and move on. They had their own thoughts and concerns, I'm sure. After all, a hospital is not a place to socialize. Still, to feel all alone in the midst of so much busyness really got on my nerves.

This is a just a message for all of us who know of someone who is in nursing homes, hospitals, who may live alone...maybe even the elderly person next door. How often do you give of yourself, your time? How often do you reach out, even if it's just to make certain they are safe and comfortable? Today's paper had a small, two paragraph story about an elderly man who died in a small fire in his house. Apparently he was cooking something and perhaps dropped it...? and burned to death while he lay on the floor. The only reason he was found was that several days later a neighbor called police and reported they hadn't seen him for awhile. Many years ago, when I was an animal control officer for a city near me, I received a call from police to pick up a dog. His owner had died, they estimated, FIVE DAYS before....newspapers were building up on the front steps and mail bulged from the box. A neighbor reported that the dog had been barking nonstop for days before the body was found. Just last week, a neighbor of mine passed away at the age of 70. She lived in the same house for 40 years...I knew OF her, but never really chatted, other than an occasional "hello" as we passed. I didn't even know she was sick...I still felt guilty for not knowing more about her. And now...she is gone.

Let this be a lesson for us all.....take that time to say hello....to show compassion. We all are not immune, as I found out yesterday. Sooner or later, we all will be that person in the wheel chair, just waiting......maybe that wait can be made just a bit easier.