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.