In the grocery story this weekend I felt blessed to only be missing a toe. I saw a young woman who had obviously been horribly burned at some point. Her right arm and most of the fingers on her left hand had been amputated. Yet, she was smiling, putting groceries in her cart, dialing her cell phone, and enjoying the people she was with. It made me feel guilty for all the times I've felt sorry for myself over my own toe amputation.
My toe amputation is not an obvious one when it's hidden inside a shoe and/or covered with a sock. That young lady was stronger than me. I could feel it. I wondered to myself if I would have been able to go out in public like that with such an obvious amputation. I decided I probably couldn't.
I'll be honest that the emotional stress of having my toe amputated was hard on me. For many months afterwords I was lost and feeling so very inadequate. Throw in the fear diabetes brought with it and I was a mess. On the outside I was a fighter, but on the inside I was mush.
I felt such empathy for the young woman when I saw her. I was only missing a toe, but I knew a tiny bit of the emotion she must have felt with her experience. Selfishly or not, I felt blessed to only be missing a toe.
How much home can you really afford? Find out here.
Please check out my new blog, Economic Recovery Thoughts.
Recent Comments