thanksgiving

the only good thing about being on call on Thanksgiving day is that it makes me super-thankful for everything i have...

i walk in this AM to find out that the night team spent a large portion of the night trying to resuscitate an 18-year old girl. don't worry, the story gets more tragic. the day before she was in an ENT's office getting a nose job. they sedated her without protecting her airway. she bled, swallowed some of the blood, lost her airway, and stopped breathing. they intubated her in the office and rushed her to the icu. she died this morning, nov 23, 2006, thanksgiving day. all morning i heard someone - i'm not sure if it was a family member or a friend, but it was a young girl - crying, shreking on the phone.

first, i'm thankful i wasn't here for that. i'm pretty sure i would have lost it.

second, i'm thankful i'm alive. and not in the hospital because i'm sick. there's another guy, late 50s, broke his neck in a car accident, totally paralyzed from shoulders down. he doesn't have any fine finger mvmts, and he has a trach - prob for the rest of his life. if he's smiling, i can smile too.

third, i'm thankful for my family - this poor girl was probably born into affluence in the upper east side of nyc, which, sadly, probably contributed to her accelerated death.

last, i'm thankful to know Jesus. we are all cursed by Death, but i'm so glad i have the assurance that "to die is gain." Jesus lives, and so shall I! :)