It has been a while since my last post. I would love to say I have been busy, but I really haven’t. My life took a turn on Thursday after undergoing a routine medical procedure and I’ve been trying to recover. My world for the last 3 days has been hospital beds, x-rays and chest tubes. I was never fearful for my life, my vital signs never dropped, I never had a blood oxygen level lower then 98%, but there was a moment that I was in so much pain, I thought I would die. Thank goodness for morphine. Anyways, I learned some lessons in the last 3 days that I wanted to share:

1. When something bad happens that is out of your control, being negative never helps the situation.

As mad as you are that it happened, or as painful as it is, negativity makes it worse. Being positive and making the best out of a bad situation makes the bad situation better. I spent the day reading, sleeping, texting my friends. I had been needing a break from the kids for so long, here it was. O.K. So I was in the hospital… but it was still a break.

2. Complaining and whining will get you nowhere.

Once I was admitted to the hospital I was put in a room with three ladies. As they rolled me into the room I made made eye contact with them all. They looked MISERABLE. Albeit, they had been there for much longer then me, but their only conversation was about how AWFUL everything was. The nurses, the food etc. When their family would come and visit they would complain to them about it all. They even talked about “giving up”. O.K. So I’m not 85, but I don’t think that anyone should give up. There is so much to live for. I decided from that moment that I would try to engage these ladies and change their minds. So I finally had a moment with one lady. I engaged her in conversation and she recounted her wonderful life, not leaving out a single detail. All she really wanted was someone to listen to her. She lit up, and at the end of the conversation I knew she no longer wanted to give up. It is amazing how engaging someone in conversation can change the way they see things. I do not know her and I will never see her again but I know that it made a difference in her day. I also let her complain about the nurses.

3. When the going gets tough you know your circle of support.

Funny enough, my status update on facebook before I went into the procedure was “I am grateful.” It is amazing how my circle of friends and my family came together to help. Some helped with the kids, some brought me food (and fancy food like baguettes and cheese and sushi), some helped with their kind words and encouragement. Having a strong circle of support is probably the most important thing in life.

I knew that my situation wasn’t dire. It was annoying and painful but I knew I would get out of it alive and intact. My thoughts and feelings might change if the situation was more dire, but for now, I stick to my guns. Being negative, complaining and rolling your eyes will get you nowhere. Being positive, and grateful for the people around you is the way to go.

That said, I can’t exercise for a week. I am pissed. I don’t know how I will do that. But… it’s only a week. I haven’t lost a leg. It’s one week. I think I’ll be ok.