Life, a fragile thing This morning I drove to a local hospital I hadn’t been in since my mother passed away a little over a year ago. As I walked down the halls and pressed the elevator button for the second floor it became all too familiar.

I was there today helping my cousin by sitting/visiting with my uncle for part of the day. He’s in the hospital but then so is his wife my aunt.

My Aunt fell down a flight of stairs at her home last week, broke her arm and fractured her neck in two places. Because of her age they decided not to operate but to put her in a rigid neck brace to see if the fractures will heal. A few days after she fell my uncle, who had someone staying with him because his health hasn’t been good, slipped while sitting at the kitchen table and landed on his head/face, also fracturing his neck. They’re both in their late 70’s and my cousin, as an only child, is faced with a terrible situation.

As I entered my uncles room I was surprised to see my cousin and her husband unexpectedly sitting beside his bed. I then noticed the respirator and that he appeared to be unconscious. Yes, all too familiar…

We often talk about living in moment and enjoying each day fully but it is only when we connect with how fragile this thing we call life is that we fully comprehend the true importance of practicing what we preach.

Update: I just found out that my uncle passed away while I was writing this post.

3 Comments

  1. Earl,

    Sorry to hear about all the recent passings. As I get older myself I am beginning to think about the next stage of the journey. It’s too easy to get lost in the day to day rush. Sounds like you are getting some time to reflect which is a valuable thing in itself.

    Regards,
    –Eric

  2. Life is indeed fragile. My sincerest condolences on you loss.

  3. My thoughts are with you and family members in this sad time. It was so coincidental that they both encountered falls so close together in time. Sad story.