I was reminded today of an experience I had 20 years ago. I was a few years sober at the time.
I had a patient that always came to his appointments with a joke and a smile. He had a great zest for life. One day he came in and his energy was noticeably somber. I asked him if some thing was wrong. He answered, "I'm terminal doc.."
I was stunned but I immediately followed with, "What happened? Are you sick?" He looked at me straight in the eye and said, "You're terminal too doc!" and he gave me a smile. That was the last time I saw him. He never divulged what happened. I didn't check the obits. His name was Jack.
Looking back, I recognize that his final lesson to me was to cherish every day. I'll never forget him or that conversation. A key tool of recovery encourages me to stay in the moment. To my knowledge he wasn't in recovery - though I wasn't as open about it to my patients as I am now. There are signs from the universe all around us if we choose to pay attention to them.
The pandemic has been a good reminder that tomorrow is probably but never guaranteed. I have lost several people in my life to addiction, cancer and other illnesses. So I try to live my best day every day.
