Susan Keezer: Fortunate

The one-inch scare on my hand will disappear fairly quickly. I look at it and think about the day I was in the hospital to have carpal tunnel surgery. My daughter drove me to the hospital. We walked into a bright cheerful lobby. I was greeted by a pleasant receptionist. He directed me down two spots to another person so I could be registered. She was cheerful, looked at my insurance cards, double-checked my name and birth date and sent me and my daughter back to the lobby to wait.

We had barely sat down before a nurse came out and called me in to the pre-op area. I followed her down a spotless corridor, and she chirped, “Here we are, please put the gown on, tied in the back.” I took off my layers of winter clothes as directed and put on a gown made of paper and some other fiber. I clumsily tied it in the back. I packed my clothing, shoes and jacket in plastic bags, laid down and soon two other nurses came in.

One of them grabbed what looked like a vacuum cleaner hose and attached it to my gown, turned a knob and warm air filled the gown. There was no need for blankets — except the one for my lower legs and feet.

I thought to myself, “Now THIS is what all hospitals should have.”

One nurse questioned me about my medications while the other one magically set up an IV. She and I chatted about travel. Then my daughter came in to visit.

The anesthesiologist appeared to describe the sedation I would have during the surgery. He left, and I sent my daughter back to the lobby to wait.

The book I brought with me would, I thought, keep me occupied until I would be taken to surgery. It did for a few minutes.

But then my memory interfered and brought up recent news stories I’d heard on the radio and seen on television about what was going on between Israel and Hamas on Gaza, between Russia and the Ukraine and between warring groups in Sudan.

While I was lying in a warmed gown on clean sheets in a sanitized bay in a perfect hospital waiting for minor surgery and would not feel any pain, women on the Gaza strip were undergoing Caesarian section births WITHOUT anesthesia and normal deliveries without any pain medications. I had heard this on NPR one morning: a doctor was being interviewed about the lack of medical supplies in hospitals on the Gaza Strip.

While I was lying in a warmed gown on clean sheets, in the that faraway area hospitals were being bombed, children in shattered streets were watching their parents disappear in front of them. While I was lying in a warmed gown on clean sheets, in Sudan atrocities unimaginable were becoming the norm: beheadings, children being raped.

While I was lying in a warmed gown on clean sheets, political trouble continued in Haiti. Some 4,000 prisoners in Haiti had been given freedom by gangs. These gangs had taken over the country, specifically the capitol of Port-au-Prince. All air travel was halted. Anyone caught in Haiti was confined there. Sea ports were shut down. Haiti has been in turmoil for a long time. Television coverage was showing fires in the streets and smoke billowing in the horizon. Cars were ablaze. People were running from their homes carrying their possessions.

While I was lying in a warmed gown on clean sheets, I could not help thinking about the many other darknesses that plague this world. Sadly, some of them are in our own country.

We have children who go hungry. We have homeless families. We have murders and other violent crimes. We have problems that are so appalling it is hard to think about them.

But we also have many blessings. We have the capability to address all our issues. We have the means to do so.

While I was lying in a warmed gown on clean sheets in that hospital and thinking about all this, I sent up prayers for all those who are suffering in this time of turmoil.

And, once more, I reminded myself of how very blessed I am.

— Susan Keezer lives in Adrian. Send your good news to her at lenaweesmiles@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Susan Keezer: Fortunate