This patient is such a joy to treat. She is almost always smiling and pleasant. Her eyes have a certain peace and light radiating from them. She hugs me when she comes in for her appointments and makes sure to say "thank you" and "goodbye" when she's finished with whatever procedure is going on.
Today, when I went to the waiting room to tell her it was her turn to come back to the treatment area, she clapped and jumped up and down. I asked her if she was excited about coming in for her appointment; she nodded her head vigorously then literally ran back into the operatory. She's nine years old....and she has the mind of a four year old.
She also has mild cerebral palsy, which is manifested in an obvious weakness and lack of coordination of one half of her body. She can't perform all of her daily functions too well so she gets help with brushing her teeth and flossing every night.
Her family is brilliant. Both parents are professors and very accomplished in their fields. She has an older sister who is smart as a whip. I often ponder the kinds of hopes and dreams her parents must have had for her.
I asked what happened. It was part of my normal routine of gathering a medical history. Her mother told me that it all happened during pregnancy. It was a completely normal pregnancy and the baby was pronounced perfectly healthy throughout. Then in the eighth month, for whatever reason, the baby had a stroke. I don't think it's very common. I don't remember how the mom said the doctors figured it out. At any rate, the doctors induced labor and she was born a little early, probably adding insult to injury.
So by some fluke, this chid, who was expected to be perfectly normal....is not. And there was nothing anyone could do about it.
And so I remember this kid sometime when I need a perspective on life. We have so little control over life and this whole process of bringing new lives into this world. We might have prenatal screens and genetic tests and try to make decisions about the value of an unborn life. But we can't predict every little glitch that might occur in life. And it can happen in an instant. A flash, a fluke, and suddenly life isn't what we expected.
I'm sure it's sometimes rough on her family. I once remarked on how happy the child always seemed and her dad slowly said, "well....not always". But there's a real special tenderness the whole family has for this kid. She seems to bring out a goodness in them. So I file that away too. Things happen for a reason. Who am I to try to control that?
So I am reminded again today to remember how precious life and health really are. And even if my little one is starting to get into thirty minute unconsolable crying tantrums as she approaches two years of age, and even if my big boy has regular poo poo accidents and moments of rude defiance, I want to choose gratitude. They're full of life and they're healthy. And there was nothing that I could do to guarantee that.
UPDATED:
I guess God's trying to tell me something. At church today, Pastor Erwin spoke on Ecclesiastes 11:1-6. Verse 5 says:
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,No, we don't have control over much of life, but we just need to faithfully invest in the things we know to be right and good and eventually we'll reap a return, in a manner known only to the good and gracious God.
or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
