Life can change in the blink of an eye. Accidents, health scares, or other unpredictable and unimaginable incidents can occur. I’ve learned that this is simply the way of life. We experience a multitude of unexpected things throughout our lives.
Childhood trauma, assault, natural disasters, injuries, diagnoses for yourself or a loved one, loss, the list goes on and on. One day you’re following your normal routine and then, as quick as lightning, something changes.
I had a hysterectomy in February of this year. I had become anemic from the amount of blood loss during each menstrual cycle. I spoke to my OB-GYN and we discovered fibroids. Surprise! We decided the best course of action would be a hysterectomy.
It went well. I followed all the rules and was pretty much healed. My doctor said everything looked good and I wouldn’t have to revisit her office for another year.
Two weeks later, I woke up with pain in my right shoulder and back. I thought I must have pulled something. It wasn’t intense pain so I just pushed through, assuming it would heal on it’s own.
The following evening, the pain worsened and I ended up in the emergency room. Several tests were administered and my husband and I learned that I had a pulmonary embolism.
Hearing those words shook me. I thought maybe I was confused, after all, they had given me pain medication. When the diagnosis was repeated, my heart seemed to dip into my stomach.
In that moment, my life changed.
I spent the next 24 hours feeling as if my stomach was a bowl full of fish racing around in circles. The shock eventually fell away and I adapted. I researched and bombarded my doctor with questions.
I now wear a bracelet that could potentially save my life should I find myself experiencing yet another one of life’s unexpected incidents.
Life can change before you even have a chance to realize what happened. You’re happily walking down the sidewalk, coffee in hand, and suddenly find yourself face down in a puddle, your coffee spilling into the grass. You find that your knee is scraped, your glasses are broken, and your clothes are now ruined.
Do you just lay there and give up? No. You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and you keep moving.
You adapt.
Adapting is a great survival tool. It’s one I’ve used again and again. We all have!
And life goes on!
