staggering

It’s only 8:54 this morning and already I’ve heard two heart rending stories told by co-workers that I just barely met.

The first I was getting to know and I asked what his wife did for a profession. He told me that she started out in the early 80’s as a nurse. A nurse, who contracted a staph infection, was in a hospital bed for 40 days where she flat lined twice. A nurse who 5 years after healing from the infection was then poked by a needle improperly stored in a sharps container. A needle infected with Hep C. Which she contracted. A nurse who 5 years after that found out she had liver cancer. After waiting a few years on the transplant list she eventually was saved by her own son’s donation.

Which triggered the second co-worker to tell me of his recent experience. One May morning he took his 18 month old daughter in for her check up. Upon examining her abdomen the pediatrician cancelled his family trip and told him they’d be taking her to get a CT scan. They found a tumor in her liver the size of a softball. For the next 6 months their lives revolved around the hospital. He showed me a picture of his adorable little girl taken on the official day of remission. One week before Christmas. The holidays for them last year were euphoric. Her middle name is Noel.


Sometimes I’m blown away by the experiences that people go through. You look at someone on the surface and see them plugging away. You see them just living their lives and figure you know who they are and what they’re about.

But you don’t.

Almost everyone has an amazing story like this. Everyone has deep, real issues that they rise above on a daily basis. Amazing.