On the Giving or Receiving End

I’m my veteran husband’s caregiver as he lives with kidney disease, but last summer, due to a serious bone infection in my shoulder, I was the one who needed care. Treatment included six weeks of daily intravenous antibiotics and no driving. My husband is always gracious about the things I do for him as his caregiver, but apparently I wasn’t so great at it when the tables were turned.

When he drove me to the hospital, I complained that I knew a faster route. When the nurses were shorthanded and I had to wait, I griped. My husband advised, “Learn to be patient.” But I wanted all of this to be over. Now.

One afternoon I sat next to a postsurgical cancer patient receiving blood platelets. She looked weary but smiled at me. Then my jaw dropped. Large red welts were popping out all over her head and neck. Her hives kept coming. I waved frantically to get the short-staffed nurses’ attention, but the woman never complained. She didn’t insist she knew a better way or fume about waiting. When the nurses got the hives under control, she thanked them over and over.

Later, as I told my husband the story, I asked his forgiveness and promised not to be so impatient with the care he gave. God had brought someone much sicker than I was to teach me that whether I’m on the giving or receiving end of care, a good attitude helps everyone.