Perspective shifter

I did my volunteer shift today on the Oncology floor @ Jersey Shore University Medical Center. It was very busy and full of doctors, nurses and patients. Spoke with a lady who's lungs were filling with fluid. She had some fear and anxiety about drowning and dying. I talked to her about relaxation techniques and said I would teach them to her. She was very interested. When I came back she was asleep. Her husband said it was the first time she had slept in a few days. I guess just talking about relaxation can be relaxing. I talked with a man who was in for his second of possibly four rounds of chemo. He ran down the types of cancer he had been diagnosed with and surgeries he's had since 1989...I'll spare you the details. He was tough. He said, "This ain't no big deal. You feel bad for awhile..lose your appetite..then it comes around and you get better. I beat all of the others...I'll beat this one too." On to the next room:
A friendly fellow was speaking Italian and English as I came into his room. He was preparing to go home and was waiting on a transport service. He didn't have any legs and had lost the strength to pull himself around by his arms. He used to play tennis in tournaments and was very active. He apologized for crying as he talked about losing his ability to move himself around in the world. He said, "When you come down to this...all you have is your memories." I felt tearful too. I was asked to get a wheelchair to help a man downstairs so he could go on a daypass. I went to the room and met a big, biker looking dude with long brown, braided hair and tattoos covering both arms. He still had the ports taped into his arms but no tubing as he was going for a 3 hour outing. He had a walking cane that he used to punch the buttons on the elevator. When the door closed and it was just the two of us he said, "They gave me a death sentence this morning. Throat cancer." The door opened and I wheeled him outside and into the sun until his ride came.
When I got home this afternoon it was getting darker and colder. I decided to go for a run and I started out a little faster than normal. I watched as the sky shifted in colors and the sun began to drop. I fully enjoyed the ability to move my body. I appreciated the fact (and it is a fact) that everything is passing. Enjoy the moments as they pass.