A Nurse’s Gratitude
Deeper — because we know what we know
As I woke up this morning, I noticed that for the first time in a week, my arthritic left hip is now behaving. My body moves with ease and there is no more aching catch in my stride. I know most Humans wouldn’t be grateful for an arthritic hip, but I am.
I’m grateful that it’s only arthritis. The x-ray in July confirmed it wasn’t a hairline fracture of my femur head — as I had feared. Some decent pain meds, rest, and a round of steroids, and I was good to go. I am thankful for the miracle that is a strong skeleton. Because I’ve seen what it looks like when it isn’t. Osteoporosis is responsible for many fractures in the elderly and comes with a very high mortality.
I ended my career as an oncology nurse navigator back in 2020 when I retired. The department I worked in within oncology was gastro-intestinal (GI) surgical oncology. Nearly all my patients had problems with their liver, pancreas, intestines, and/or rectum.
And that haunts me to this day. Every day, I am grateful for bowels that move, a pancreas that works, and a hard-working liver. I am thankful for the miracle that is a functional GI tract. Because I’ve seen what it looks like when it isn’t. Per Wiki, the GI tract and the accessory organs of digestion (pancreas, liver, gall bladder) are responsible for more…
