It Nearly Killed Me, But I'm Still Here To Write About It...

     Work, that is.  I DID make it in to work on Thanksgiving Day, against the protests of Dr. She Who Will Not Be Named...she really should know better by now than to "protest" ANY of my professed desires...it only makes me STRONGER!  LOL

     My work hours, which actually ended up being LONGER than normal because of a high volume of over-stuffed and drunk Thanksgiving Day celebrants ending up in emergency rooms, was beyond grueling.  My work partners and I not only did NOT get to partake in any type of Thanksgiving meal or festivities, we actually ended up having no time to eat ANYTHING AT ALL!  Unless of course, you call a two day old bag of Cheetos, a can of pop, and some apple slices a meal OR a celebration...but, ah...the life of a public servant.

     My coworkers are always so wonderful to me, but even more so in times when I am ill...they simply allowed me to "pace" myself and helped out in any ways they could like driving, etc.  My vertigo remains constant, but the nausea is completely manageable with drugs right now...and my left leg...well, that's another story to be later determined.  It continues to tremor, be weak, and essentially be quite annoying for mobility...the cane helps, but it is also quite cumbersome.

     I grew extremely tired and weak (from lack of sustenance most likely!) toward the end of our last emergency room evaluation...I was tired, kranky, shaky, "roid raged", and simply not in the mood to encounter yet another human being.  However, just in the midst of my free fall into pure physical hell, the family members we had been working with came up to us to say "thank you" before leaving the ER and before we sent their loved one away to the safety of a hospital.

     I know this may not sound like such a big deal and one would probably think we are "thanked" many times in my job, but this is simply not the case.  Most often, someone is always mad at myself or my coworkers and unhappy with our assessments...either our clients or the professionals that refer them.

     But the genuine sincerity of this particular family touched my heart greatly...they truly WERE grateful for our work and care with their loved one.  They were THANKFUL on Thanksgiving Day and they went out of their way to make certain that message was received by us.

     So, two lessons learned here...ALWAYS say thank you when you mean it because you have no way of knowing just what an important impact that may have on someone else.  And number two...Thanksgiving really isn't about the food, it's about gratefulness!  I think I already knew these important lessons, but it never hurts to remind myself every now and then!...