Inspiration: Take a Minute and Appreciate Your Life!

September 29, 2013

Hey Everyone,

Hope you all are having a great weekend? On Friday, I started a new rotation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and boy! It was the most overwhelming thing ever! There were really sick patients and I had no idea where to start. For the first few hours I didn't feel that I could make it through the day. By the end of what seemed to be a not-so-long 7am - 4pm shift, I was sure that I didn't want to be an Intensivist (doctor specialized in Intensive Care). Yesterday, I was on call, it was a loooooooooong day! I was there from 6am to 8pm, but it felt like I had been there for 2 days! LOL.

Today, while I was cringing at the thought of having to go back to work tomorrow, I rebuked myself almost immediately! I decided to look at the bigger picture; I am healthy, I have a job, a means of getting to work, I have friends, family, a roof over my head, food, I can eat, see, hear, I woke up this morning, I can walk, talk, think, laugh, the list goes on. Just then, I remembered my patients in the ICU, some are young, some are old, some have been unconscious for the past few days, some months, some are being fed through tubes, one was healthy a few days ago, three days later he is unconscious, just like that. I remembered their families, who sit by their bedside praying for just one more opportunity to talk to their loved ones. I remembered the patient who had a heart attack, and almost died, but for the timely intervention of the medical team. I started to think of the world around us, the wars, the bloodshed, the suffering, the hunger, the homeless, and I couldn't believe how fortunate I am. At that moment, I started to thank God, for the little things, for the big things, for everything!

My dear friends, I want you to do the same. We may not have it all, may not have enough, but we have something. We may not be where we want to be, but we are alive! Tomorrow can change, for the better, for the worse, we are not even guaranteed tomorrow! It is very easy for us to forget to stop for a second and appreciate even the little things, and I was guilty of that today, but whenever you can, just say "Thank you!' to your family, friends, neighbors, partners, if you believe in God, thank him! Just take a minute and appreciate all the good things around you, your hard work, success, privileges, challenges, positives, negatives, obstacles, motivations, opportunities, anything, but most importantly, your life!

Its been a few hours since my apprehension about work tomorrow, and I have decided to focus on the positive side of my ICU rotation in the coming month; I get to meet and help people, while learning a great deal about medicine. I truly appreciate the opportunities and privileges I have been given!

Have a blessed week y'all! :)

Love,

Gucci.