Formerly Food Addicted #6 - Hospital Awakenings

My mom is in surgery right now. I have been at the hospital since 5 a.m., so I thought I would share my random musings.

As I was sitting in the waiting area, I couldn’t help but hear the conversations going on around me. I drifted into a conversation of the lady sitting behind her who was on her cell phone.

"Yes, I am calling to see how my mom is doing. May I speak with a nurse please? Thank you"

Judging from the bags under her eyes, I could tell she'd had little sleep. Concern pierced her voice as she responded to the person on the other end. "What? There are problems with her heart? I'm sorry, we have a bad connection. I am in Cleveland right now at the Cleveland Clinic because my daughter is having brain surgery….OK, so mom has to go to ICU? Can I talk to her?"

This poor lady has a mom somewhere in ICU with heart trouble, and her daughter is having brain surgery! I can’t even imagine.

I moved to a different waiting area to help pass the time. In the smaller waiting area, another conversation captured my attention. There was the one guy – you know, the one who feels the need to talk the entire time anyone is seated near him - who was telling his story. "...Yeah, it was like we were tag teaming. I had a heart attack. Then once I got better, she was diagnosed with cancer." Others chimed in about their cancer experiences. Everyone else in that waiting room was there for someone who was having cancer related surgery.

Mr. talkative shared more. "They had to remove her spleen. Her spleen weighed 5 1/2 pounds by the time they removed it. Now the cancer has spread, so they are taking her thyroid out today. We've been here 15 or 16 times since she's been diagnosed. We live in Erie, Pennsylvania. So, every time we come, I have to pay for hotel expenses. You would think the insurance company would help you pay for that.” Two ladies in the room then shared about their loved one's diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer.

My mom is still in surgery. But the conversations of strangers are awakenings for me. I am awakened to the need to continually be thankful. Though there are lots of hard circumstances in life right now, I am reminded that it could be worse. I will pray for those stories I heard today. I will also pray for myself. I will continue praying that God will deliver me from the monster of binge eating. I know that I am slowly self-destructing from my unhealthy eating patterns. Ill health could potentially be my fate. I pray that the unhealthy binge foods will no longer have a grip on me, and that I can walk in freedom to make the healthy food choices I desire.