September was rolling along just dandy-like until the 21st. I came home from a lunch appointment and told my wife that I didn’t feel right and was going to bed. Two days later, I tested positive for C-VID. We immediately called a home healthcare company and they began treating me with every medication known to man.
Over the next couple of weeks, though, my condition continued to worsen. I was diagnosed with pneumonia and watched my blood oxygen level, which was supposed to be in the 95-100 percent range, sink lower and lower. First it dropped down into the 80s, then the lower 80s, then it plummeted into the 70s. My wife tells me that, at one point, it reached 68.
My fever raged and I was rendered helpless by an uncontrollable, unrelenting cough. Because I had lost my sense of taste (some people will tell you that I never have had taste to begin with), I stopped eating. My wife begged, sweet-talked, threatened, and cajoled me, trying to get me to eat but to no avail. I gradually lost almost 20 pounds.
Just in the nick of time, though, the ambulance arrived and whisked me off to the hospital. There, they plugged me up to some high-powered oxygen that felt like having a fire hydrant blow up my nose.
But it did the trick, and in no time I was on the mend. But I still had a long way to go. When I was released from the hospital, I was as weak as a newborn kitten. My body was emaciated and I could barely walk. My days were spent in a C-VID fog which made it difficult to focus or concentrate on anything. I spent a lot of time in bed, wondering when I would ever feel normal again.
My wife had come down with the virus a few days before I was taken to the hospital, and she remained bedridden until a couple of days after I came back home. But during that time, when we were both out of action, something wonderful happened. People we don’t really even know that well began showing up with food for my kids. Neighbors ran errands for groceries and refused repayment afterward. People we haven’t spoken to in ages sent gift cards and arranged for food deliveries from area restaurants. At a time when my wife and I were completely helpless, we were the recipients of unexpected kindness.
We hear so much these days about what a sad state our world is in. We are constantly deluged with negatively and reports of contention and strife. Social media pours out a torrent of everything from the ridiculous to the cruel.
And yet, down here, on the street level, there is still kindness to be found. You won’t hear about it on the news or online because it just isn’t that sensational, but it exists just the same. People reaching out to help one another regardless of political orientation or world view. People pausing in their hectic lives to help others survive. People leaning down to help others up.
As we head into the holidays and wrap up another rather difficult year, I find it comforting to know that underneath the roar of voices proclaiming catastrophe and doom, there are still people who care for others.
I’m almost all the way recovered now and will be on the road soon. In the meantime, take a look around you and do what you can to insert kindness in your world.
© 2021 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a nationally known humorous motivational speaker and author. Visit his Web site www.CharlesMarshallSpeaker.com or contact him via e-mail at Charles@CharlesMarshallSpeaker.com
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