Tuesday; May 23

Four years ago I underwent quintuple bypass surgery. As evidenced by the fact that four years later I can write about it, things went fine. In fact, when I think back on that day, I really don’t have an emotional reaction. I remember being wheeled into pre-op, speaking to the anesthesiologist and waking up a couple times in ICU. From my perspective, the surgery wasn’t that big of a deal. Due to my condition when I checked into the hospital, I didn’t have too long to worry about it and thanks to the strong drugs, I slept through the entire event. I might have been the one going through the procedure, but it was my close friends and family that were enduring the crisis and trauma. They worried about me, they had to take time off of work to be there with me, they had to wait for several hours before the surgeon reassured them I was going fine. When I think back on it, they had the much more difficult task.

After pondering challenges for a while, sometimes I wonder if this phenomena isn’t true in many cases. How often do the people who support the people going through crisis have a tougher job? The people who travel to a new town so they can be near a family member in prison might have a more difficult time than those who are incarcerated. Those who try to help a relative through financial difficulties might have tougher time than the person themselves. Parents who adopt neglected children may spend more sleepless nights than the children themselves.

Let’s remember those who support those who need acute assistance. They may actually need more help than those primarily impacted.

Think About It! 

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