Thursday, June 05, 2008

Have I become jaded?

These days I am finding it difficult to sympathize with people when they do stupid things and then something bad happens to them.
Like the patient at my work that was in his 50s but appeared much older due to his liver cirrhosis that he developed from many years of heavy drinking. AND he was on the transplant list for a new liver-since he had been clean for 10 years. Clean or not I think a liver could be used by my someone more deserving.
He never got it. He died. He was a nice man though.
Or another patient that was extremely morbidly obese and was barely mobile by the age of 60. He had heart issues and diabetes and, of course, a history of drinking. And overeating as well. Hard to feel too sorry for him.

So when my youngest son dives off of the back of the couch splitting his lip open after being told many, many times NOT to climb up there. And having his hand smacked several times. It's hard to feel too horrible for the poor kid. As my son came crying to me, I asked him," Well, what did you think would happen when you jumped over the back of the couch onto a wood floor?"
Of course, since he is only 1, he did not respond. He just drooled some bloody saliva onto his chin.
I know, I know. I am very cruel, but come on! Will he learn now? Not likely. He'll make the attempt again tomorrow.

Then David comes stumbling in the front door comaplining that he tripped and fell and hit his head really hard and he was having blurry vision and could not walk straight. First of all, I wondered why he even drove himself home if he felt so poorly.
Then I asked if he had been drinking at all.
"Not really, I had a couple martinis"
I'm still baffled by the thought that he actually thought his symptoms were caused by his fall- not the alcohol. Denial is not just a river in Africa, my friend.
But I told him to go to bed. He felt badly about it all, and was feeling rather ill. I figured that in the morning he will suffering enough.

Poor guy. But I am concerned about his health. He doesn't live healthily, at all. Unfortunately I've seen too many people that abused their body throughout life and it just doesn't end well. Their golden years aren't as golden with all of the hospital visits and rehab and surgical procedures. I'd rather spend those years traveling and taking cruises after the kids leave home.
I don't want to go all alone.

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