I was at a doctor’s office the other day.
There was a man next to me..
I don’t pry into people’s affairs when they are at the doctor’s.
Hey, I know how personal an ingrown toe-nail can be.
(Oooh, the stories about toe-nails I could tell you!)
When a little birdie told me speak to this man.
Now, I normally do not listen to little birds that talk.
They kinda freak me out and question my sanity.
But this creature was SOOOOOOOO cute, I thought it wise not to antagonize it.
(I have seen what Angry Birds can do.. Trust me, it aint’ pretty).
I looked at the man next to me and I asked him if he was okay.
(which, if you think about it, is the single stupidest comment one can make. I mean, who goes to the doctor’s office when you are feeling fine? A highly insured masochist?).
He then proceeded to tell this incredible story.
He was a war veteran, and it seems the army EXPERIMENTED on him!!
Whoa!
I found out that unless one EXPLICITLY asks the Army to provide a medical experiment waiver, that joining the forces implicitly gives the government the right to give you experimental drugs (long before they are FDA approved, if ever), or even experimental surgeries!
Now, I haven’t done research on this so I am taking this man at his word. But after hearing about all the pain and suffering he went through at the hands of doctors, I believed him.
You know what the most amazing thing is about the guy?
Not his illness.
Not his botched surgeries.
Not the way he was treated.
It was that through telling me all of this he had a SMILE on his face!
There wasn’t a TRACE of anger, remorse, vengeance, hatred, etc..
He just accepted that what happened is what happened.
He was lucky he was alive.
I know he told me a lot, which I can’t remember, mainly because I kept saying to myself “how can this man be so happy with all the suffering he has endured – and looks like he is still enduring?”
I thought about all my problems that bother me… and they all seemed so petty.
Nothing I have ever gone through in life can compare to what this man went through.
Heck, my only personal experience with war is with a deck of cards!
(and I always lose!).
I had to leave, so my time with this wonderful man was cut short. I really wanted to understand how he developed his incredible positive outlook on life.
Maybe by just being thankful for being alive.
Sometimes, that is enough.
Peace.