Yesterday a good friend had a spell during church. We still don't know what happened, but it scared a good number of us. We could tell she was starting to improve, was getting better (starting to argue with us), but I was very concerned about her slurred speech. I've never been so thankful that our church is blessed with so many nurses! When we finally ruled out sugar issues, one of the nurses agreed with me that she needed to head to the local CVS minute clinic and get her blood pressure checked. My friend told us it would no longer be low because we were all being a pain in the neck and driving it up. Being the kind, considerate person that I am, I told her we could also be a pain in the butt if we needed to be. Thankfully she laughed.
There's nothing I hate more than being sick and having an audience. I had a migraine once that triggered other problems and resulted in at rip to the ER. An extended family member came over to "help out" and I remember wishing she would just go away and let me throw up in peace. When she started talking about an ambulance (I was sick; not dying!), I really wanted her to leave.
I remember those feelings all too well. And so there's a part of me inside that always waffles about demanding someone see a doctor or seek treatment. And yet, there are times, like yesterday, when someone does not comprehend the seriousness of the situation. Did my friend know it wasn't her sugar? Yes. And we listened to her, even if we were still concerned. But she couldn't see her face, couldn't see the slurred speech and vacant eyes. We could. And as we saw the spark come back and the speech slowly improved, we could semi-relax. In moments like those, I'd rather be a pain and do the right thing for someone's health tha be overly sensitive to someone's feeling and wind up visiting the hospital or attending a funeral.
As my husband once told me early on in our marriage, compassion is not my spiritual gift. And that's okay. I'll gladly be a pain in the neck if it means helping someone out. :)
There's nothing I hate more than being sick and having an audience. I had a migraine once that triggered other problems and resulted in at rip to the ER. An extended family member came over to "help out" and I remember wishing she would just go away and let me throw up in peace. When she started talking about an ambulance (I was sick; not dying!), I really wanted her to leave.
I remember those feelings all too well. And so there's a part of me inside that always waffles about demanding someone see a doctor or seek treatment. And yet, there are times, like yesterday, when someone does not comprehend the seriousness of the situation. Did my friend know it wasn't her sugar? Yes. And we listened to her, even if we were still concerned. But she couldn't see her face, couldn't see the slurred speech and vacant eyes. We could. And as we saw the spark come back and the speech slowly improved, we could semi-relax. In moments like those, I'd rather be a pain and do the right thing for someone's health tha be overly sensitive to someone's feeling and wind up visiting the hospital or attending a funeral.
As my husband once told me early on in our marriage, compassion is not my spiritual gift. And that's okay. I'll gladly be a pain in the neck if it means helping someone out. :)
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