Ideas for sharing within these cyber pages come from many varying angles, and this expression is no exception (physically and philosophically).
At the time of this publishing, I am reaching out to you from a distant land, availing myself of a rare moment of vacation (and yes, there is someone home - so don't come over and rob our house). A vacation is an interesting concept; an opportunity which allows us to step away for a brief period of time from the challenges of daily life and work, in order to cleanse the soul, to shrink the stress and often times to expand the stomach.
I happen to have the privilege to be traveling with a person who is swimming upstream against a mighty current, and whose reaction to this life situation is impressive, inspiring and humbling. A super-hero of indomitable spirit who is unable to vacate from their medical challenges. Yet they are also a super-human who is not letting that circumstance prevent them from participating in their own version of a vacation.
For me, the period of medical metamorphosis had a distinct beginning, middle and end. Granted, the duration (and prognosis) for each phase was initially undetermined, but now that they have been completed, I am essentially "done" with my work and can vacate my malady. Others, such as my traveling companion, are not nearly as fortunate. Some face a long road of rehab to get back to a point which is admittedly less than where they were. Many must learn to live within the confines of a new life which is nothing like what they enjoyed before. And still too many will barely advance from their stricken state, and will be hampered forever.
My dear traveling com padre lies somewhere in the middle of these parameters - yet fights everyday to get closer and closer to the life they once knew. They will never be able to vacate their drudgery. I, by contrast, did my time, had my miracle medical intervention, essentially escaped my drudgery, and now am merely a daily pill away from maintaining some semblance of normalcy. I look at them, I marvel at their fortitude/attitude, and I realize that I am one of the lucky ones.
