Friday the ninth brings thankfulness

Freed to breathe

It was Friday the ninth exactly six months ago; I had just been discharged from hospital, still a very sick man in excruciating pain but with the assurance that we were well on the way to recovery.

It never occurred to me how long the recovery would take or what things I would experience having left that bed on which I did everything for 18 long days.

For me, getting home was the singular most important thing to get away from the food and have a sense of freedom and the air to feel that things were on the up.

The hospital was not ready to let go of me until they had arranged for a nurse to visit daily to dress the fungating tumours of my left foot which had a black deathly colour and my right foot which was painful but not as bad as the other.

Breathing free

Today, I have just completed my tenth day at work, it has been a long recovery period in which a new knowledge of suffering impacted on my existence in want, lack, needs, harassment and vulnerability – I learnt a lot and I am still learning.

I have been blessed abundantly by God, by incomparable doctors and nurses, by my most heavenly neighbours, by dear friends, amazing colleagues, surprising acquaintances, sympathetic strangers and a tolerant system.

Counting my blessings, a lot has been done and much more needs to be done, but I am confident, expectant, elated, grateful, thankful and happy that I can write about it today – skin cancer happened, some things we have to live through, some things we have to live with and other things we live to overcome and tell amazing stories of the power of hope, faith and love.

Thank you all, thank you.