Hi Everyone,
Anything can happen to any one of us and the people in our lives at any time. As a head’s up, not all of what happens to us or the people we care about, love is good. This is why.
NEWSFLASH!!! No one is getting any younger! In case anyone hasn’t noticed, each of us is getting older by the second! If that isn’t a reminder to live your life to the fullest, then I don’t know what is. This is what I mean.
Recently I asked a taxi driver who I haven’t seen for a while what has happened in his life since the last time I was in his taxi. He told me that his sister had suddenly died of a heart attack. After I gave him my condolences I asked him how long ago his sister had passed away and how he was coping with it. His response is below.
“It’s almost six weeks now and I’m still really upset. There’s so much I wanted to tell her but couldn’t because I didn’t have the time. I didn’t think she was going to die so suddenly.
My mother is having the hardest time though. Not only was my sister the baby of the family and my mother lived with her, my mother has also lost three children, all from natural causes. There are five of us in total. Nothing prepares you for a sudden death. I searched the Internet and it was noted on every site that a sudden death is the hardest to deal with, get over.”
Even though we arrived at my destination, we continued our conversation until the dispatcher gave him his next call.
Then about a week later, as I boarded a bus, I recognized the bus driver. Her bus route had changed a few months before and we had a lot to catch up on. Several minutes after we began speaking with each other she told me that her 21 year old nephew passed away of cancer and that his funeral was that Friday. As I gave her my condolences, she told me her story.
Prior to his death, he had suffered immensely for almost a year. Nothing that was subscribed, or tried worked. But she said the worst part was watching him shrivel away as his family members took turns feeding him, bathing him, etc. as they all watched him die a very slow and painful death for months.
“You know if an animal is dying a slow and painful death, no one thinks twice about putting down an animal. No one says anything. But when it comes to the thought of humans being put out of their misery by euthanizing them so that they no longer suffer it is considered inhumane.
“My nephew suffered for months and he was in pain every day for the last few months of his life. The morphine stopped working a few weeks before he died. If someone in the family could have euthanized him they would have. I mean he was a strong, active young man when he was diagnosed with cancer at 19 and he died as a shell of himself.”
Because I have known this bus driver for over a year and like her very much I didn’t have the heart to tell her what the taxi driver told me about how he is not coping with his sister’s sudden death and why. I wasn’t about to change the subject either. I just let her talk.
I found out about another death a few days after my speaking with the bus driver. Again, it wasn’t anyone that I knew but, again, I knew who was left behind to mourn. This woman has her own challenges. I make a point of visiting her and I just let her talk about whatever is on her mind.
The interesting thing is this. Every time she saw me, I would be reading a book. One day shortly after we had met she said something to me that I found intriguing. At the time, I was having a problem writing something and her words broke my writer’s block in more ways than one. Her words changed my life. (Thank you!)
Later that same day as I was looking at a tweet, another death was mentioned. This person was at the funeral. (Already raised.)
The point of this blog is two-fold. Firstly, live your life to the fullest in the best way that you can manage. It doesn’t have to be perfect it just has to be by your rules. With that said, I trust that everyone reading this blog has a strong moral compass. Just saying.
Secondly, tell the people in your life that you love and care about how much you love and care about them before it is too late.
The grim reaper is at each of our doors and he is closer to some doors than others.
Thank you for reading A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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