None of us has a guarantee of tomorrow. There is not a day that goes by without reminders that our life or the life of one we know and love could be gone in the blink of an eye. For nearly five months I have lived knowing that today could be my last with my wife.
Today is Valentines Day and once again I find myself in Neuro Trauma ICU with my wife. Nearly five months ago I brought her to the emergency room for a ruptured frontal lobe aneurysm. Since that time she has only been home for a day and a half. A second rupture, a stroke, a craniotomy, and on and on and on it goes…. Yesterday she had surgery to install a shunt that will relieve pressure on her brain by draining fluid (CFS) into her abdomen via a small electronic device and a long tube.
She has escaped death several times in the last few months. She knows she is a miracle and she knows she still has a lot to overcome. As her recovery continues and as her consciousness increases she will realize that each day is a gift and tomorrow is not guaranteed.
I am saddened, no, I am sickened by what I see in our society today. If we lived each day knowing that tomorrow was not guaranteed, maybe there would be fewer demonstrations and protests and more helping hands and open arms. If we lived with no guarantee of tomorrow would our words be angry and hate filled, or would they be words spoken in kindness with sincere gestures love and understanding?
Today will be a Valentines Day I will not soon forget. The love of my wife knows me, but doesn’t remember all that we have shared for 34 years. As I leave later today I will do so thanking God for one more day with her. I will leave with no regrets. We can do little to affect positive change in a greatly divided nation and world, but we can do much to affect our little corner of the world. It all starts by realizing that there is no guarantee of tomorrow.
I have never dedicated a blog, but this time I will – to my wife, and to my mother who will turn 89 in four days. I thought I was going to lose you both before this day 2/14/2017.
Stan Means
Elder Source Senior Ministries
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