Days like these

I took the splint off my finger so I could type.

A long time ago I learned that even at the worst of times there are good things that deserve focus. I will always remember February 14, 1995. I was at home with my two young children, we were all upstairs. The fire alarm went off downstairs and at first I figured I had probably left something on the stove. As I approached the stairs I could smell and see the smoke and as I looked down, I could see the flames.

A lot of personal drama ensued, from putting two young children on a snow covered roof to walking back into a burning home three times in an attempt to save a cat that at the time meant as much to me as, well, possibly, those two children who were already safely enclosed in a car.

It is what happened in the days after the fire that really woke me up. Good people, caring people came out of the woodwork and shared with us. One day I found a check in our mailbox. We had encamped at a local hotel while we looked for a rental home and insurance company employees tried to work out the value of a home that had disappeared in flames. It was tremendously sad, but I kept finding good things to focus on. The kindness of neighbors and our entire community made me realize how lucky I was. The two children who smile and shared optimism that all would be well. Complete strangers offers of help.

Before that time I had never helped people I did not know. It was beyond me to think that someone in a news story who had lost their home might need blankets. One day we returned to the hotel room and there was a note to come to the lobby. There we found bags and bags of donated items. Towels, clothes, toys and pretty much anything else you may need when moving into a home. It was shocking. I may have cried. I know I certainly felt that my life was changing and almost all of it was for the better.

In life we can often be hit by drama that brings us down. In the worst of times it seems impossible to find something positive to hold onto. My experience since then has been that even in the worst of times, the death of a parent, the brain damage from a bike crash, the beating by police, there is always something positive to focus on, that if done correctly will help you avoid demons and depression.

This recent police beating has been an interesting affair. The routine tests to find out if bones were broken (none) has led to doctors finding other things that could be an issue. A lesion was spotted on my liver, thanks to a scan done when I went to the emergency room after a night of batons on my body. A lesion? Could be bad, could be naturally occurring. More tests are set. What is amazing is the thought that I could have gone many more years with this lesion without anyone knowing about it. It is not as if I go to hospitals and request full body scans on a regular basis. In some ways, getting beaten up by the police may had added years to my life.