I SAW THE FUTURE
2014
The temperature that morning was well below freezing. Snow
was falling at blizzard levels creating a near whiteout, covering the ice that
had formed during the night. By
the time the dogs were ready for their morning pee several inches of snow was
on the ground. As always, Patience
escorted ancient Mama Pajama out, worrying the old dog would have trouble with
the frozen brick steps of the breezeway. There appeared to be an accumulation
of snow on the steps, which to Patience’s dismay was actually frozen solid. Instead
of her foot sinking into soft snow as expected, it quickly flew out in front of
her and she found herself suspended in mid air, before landing hard on her back
with her right arm hyper-extended behind her head.
Somehow she managed to crawl back into the house and call
for help. I knew from the sound of
her voice there was a problem and quickly ran downstairs to find her lying on
the kitchen floor just inside the doorway. She was pale,
sweating, and close to passing out from pain and nausea, and was unable to move
her right arm without causing her severe pain. After several tense minutes the
nausea subsided and I managed to get her upstairs and into bed, place an ice
pack on her shoulder, and give her something for the pain. We knew she had to go to the emergency
room, but didn’t know how we could manage that. It was still snowing hard, and the streets and both of our
vehicles were covered with ice and snow. Unfortunately I had cataract surgery
several days earlier and was under strict orders not to lift over 10 lbs. and
not to bend at the waist. As I looked
out our bedroom window at the awesomeness of Mother Nature I never felt so
helpless. Until you are told not
to do so, you have no idea how many times you bend at the waist in a normal
day. I did not consider myself an “old man”, but that is exactly how I felt,
old, helpless, and dependent on others.
At that very moment, with the winter theater in progress, I understood
the full extent of what old age might be like for me in the years ahead. My only comfort was in knowing that my
current incapacitation was temporary, although that was no help to us at the
time.
Fortunately our despair was blown away by the thoughtfulness
of a friend who called to check on us.
When we explained our situation Jason immediately came and drove us to
the Emergency Room. Later, when
Patience was cleared to go home, (no broken bones or dislocations) he picked us
up and delivered us back to 803 Madison Street.
Was this experience a glimpse into my future? I don’t know. But I do know that in addition to being grateful for the
thoughtfulness of a friend, I will be grateful for every day that I remain
healthy enough to care for myself and those I love. I will never take them for granted. And should the day come when I am
dependent on others, I can only hope there are friends and loved ones to help.
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