When He Is Sick

There are many ways a woman finds herself strong at the point where her man is weak. I often see my being emotional as my weakness, and my sensitive, almost neurotic responses to familial problems, I asked, 'have I toughened over the years?' Looking back, I would always seek stability and balance in everything: my budget, my concerns with the children, dealing with frustrations about husband, plus the self- discontent I sometimes feel. Last Monday, I brought my husband to the hospital because of chest pain, dizziness and numbness. I cannot think of any time in my life where I felt more vulnerable, more tired and more helpless than when one of my family is sick. Seeing him weak and at risk, I don’t know how I gathered myself together to show him that I am in-control and I take charge for us.

I spoke with the first doctor with strength and clarity of mind, but inside I cringed and wanted to walk away. Hospital scenes are not one of my favorites and so the smell, the noise, the drama inside the emergency room are the experiences I want to erase from memory along with deaths and funerals. The neurologist, who very kindly made us wait for three hours to be seen, even if this was emergency and husband is dying of anything between simple gas pain and stroke, arrived and simple and upfront, she ordered for CT Scan. After filling out the paperwork, I gave the clipboard back to the receptionist and watched as her lips sweetly uttered:

“You don’t have insurance. That’s 6,500.00, Ma’m”

I thought the numbness transferred to me. I can’t feel anything. There was a lump in my throat, and there was very little air coming in. Good thing we were already at the emergency room and my Maxicare was just in my pocket. And that’s how I realized, while God meant no harm for us, and so sicknesses and bad health are reminders that sometimes they are the results of our bad habits, it is also important to have health insurance. No matter how much they cost, HMO’s can free you from unpleasant surprises. Since the matter is not an issue (or the lack) of HMO, we went on with the CT scan and was later told that husband is well and good.

The whole experience taught us many things. God allows sickness so that we might know
that He is God. Trust in the fact that God loves you and He is not playing games with your life. Therefore, rest in the fact that God loves you. Trust in God’s character, wisdom, and power. He cares about you! Trust that He is smarter than you are and that He will somehow use this suffering for good. Secondly, if you can afford it, protect yourself with the use of a health care provider. Put your hard earned money where they should be.



And here is something to make us think why health is a true wealth...

* The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.


* So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health.

* I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.

* My fat scares me - it's a ticking time bomb.

* Those obsessed with health are not healthy; the first requisite of good health is a certain calculated carelessness about oneself.

* It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's a question of finding a sickness you like. –

* If you do everything you should do, and do not do anything you should not do, you will, according to the best available statistics, live exactly eighteen hours longer than you would otherwise.

* If you resolve to give up smoking, drinking and loving, you don't actually live longer; it just seems longer.

* It's no coincidence that four of the six letters in health are "heal."


* Bacteria keeps us from heaven and puts us there.


* If your body's not right, the rest of your day will go all wrong.