Refugee Thoughts

Recently, I spent many hours with my husband in a cubicle of the emergency room.  He was in excruciating pain, and needed medical attention.   I think it was 1:30 a.m. when we left for the hospital.  He did eventually get help, and strong drugs were used to alleviate the pain, and tests were done.

Of course, these things take time.  Lots of time.  The hours passed.  Gerry got several doses of strong medications until he was more comfortable.  He was sitting in a very comfortable chair, his favorite place to sleep.  He has been unable to lay in bed, due to the side and back pain.   He dozed and sat.  The hours crawled by.  I sat in what was a very cold and hard, uncomfortable chair, in the curtained cubicle of the ER.  Our cubicle was much smaller than the ones pictured above.

They took him to get an MRI.  We waited for a doctor to see if he was going to be sent home or admitted.  At approximately 4:00 in the afternoon, or about 14 hours later,  he was admitted for overnight observation.  Meanwhile,  I sat in the chair hour after hour.  If I lose a night's sleep, I am not in very good shape myself.   I did eventually go home and sleep for a while.

But I devised a way to get through it as the minutes and hours  crept by.  I thought about all the refugees fleeing Syria.  I thought about how hard that would be for them.  And how lucky I was to have a chair to sit on, and  heat to keep me warm, and medical help as needed.  I thought about parents holding their children, unable to go back to the place they had left, uncertain about what would lie ahead.   I thought about them walking across and entire continent, hoping for some help.   Our plight seemed completely insignificant.  I imagined how strained the shoulder muscles would feel from carrying a child, or more than one, without the benefit of a back pack.   I thought refugee thoughts to get me through the night!   The plight of the refugees seemed so hard, so hopeless, so much to endure.  

When I thought of them,  I felt I could get through whatever I needed to there in the emergency room cubicle.

In time,  maybe after a total of 36 hours, we were released to come home. We came home with some things that would provide comfort---like medications and answers.

I doubt if the refugees got either of those.