As the evening came so did a phone call from our daughter regarding her grandpa who was having chest pains she was concerned about.
Fresh out of pacemaker surgery it was alarming to think he might be having further heart problems that needed to be dealt with.After meeting him at the hospital and sitting there thru the tests at last a conclusion was reached. The pacemaker was doing its job and dad wasn’t having any further heart problems. No, the culprit was dad himself trying a little too hard to heal.
In his desire to heal quickly from his pacemaker surgery he started doing pushups off the wall at the home he was living in. As he walked down the halls he could be seen stopping long enough to do a push up from the wall. What were thought to be chest pains from a dysfunctional heart were the wounded muscles from his previous surgery irritated from the extra exercise before having a chance to heal.
Relieved to hear the news he wasn’t having further heart issues the long drive home from the hospital at midnight gave me time to think about my dad. What he was guilty of tonight was exactly what he did when he had jaundice in the army. He pushed himself hard to try and heal from what he had. Back then it was suggested that he eat watermelon until he felt better and that’s what he did. For every watermelon that he consumed it soon came back up in his vomit. However, that didn’t stop dad as he kept the process up until the jaundice was extracted from his system. The same determination was present when he broke his hip. Day by day he walked on his treadmill until he felt it was healed enough to where it needed to be to run his ranch.
As I reviewed these three pictures in my mind I got to thinking about my own disease of cancer.
No matter how hard it was to watch him try maybe a little too hard to heal perhaps he was on to something I needed with my cancer. The determination to get better instead of parking on the attitude of “whatever happens; happens.”
Grant it, I will never be able to be totally cured from my cancer but I can do a great deal of healing in my spirit and my emotions of dealing with my disease. At the end of my journey I want to be charged with the guilty sentence my dad was that night of, “trying too hard to heal.”
In everything there is a balance.
Sometimes trying too hard can do its damage but not trying hard enough is destructive as well. Somehow dad was able to find that balance and I need too as well. Therefore daily doing my part in taking control of what has control over me such as my mind, spirit, attitude, and emotions as I strive towards trying hard to be healed.
Read more posts by Karen Gillett here. Karen blogs for JenningsWire.
JenningsWire.com is created by National Publicist, Annie Jennings of the NYC based PR Firm, Annie Jennings PR. Annie Jennings PR specializes in marketing books for getting authors booked on radio talk show interviews, TV shows in major online and in high circulation magazines and newspapers. Annie also works with speaker and experts to build up powerful platforms of credibility and influence.
