My visit to the hospital cafeteria

[Guest guest]

All:

I am uncertain as to why, but walked to the hospital during my lunch break. I

entered into the cafeteria to purchase a drink. There was a blind man in front

of me, who inquired if I was visiting someone at the hospital. I responded,

no…no-one in particular. (I was unsure why I was even there.) And he said, then

come, sit and visit with me. He shared with me that he had been a " yuppie " at

one point, had everything materialistic in his life that he ever dreamed of. At

33 he found his dream wife and they married. She could not have children but

they opted for a surrogate. When the surrogate mom was going into pre-mature

labor, he and his wife were on their way to the hospital and their Jeep was hit

by a drunk driver. His wife was badly injured and he was placed into a

drug-induced coma, and hospitalized for two months. When we came out of his

coma, he received word that his optic nerve was damaged and that he would be

blind, and at the same time he received word that he was now the father of twin

boys. He went on to share that he debated about taking his life, he could not

foresee (literally) a future for himself being blind; but he also knew that his

wife needed him as her spouse and that these little boys would need a father.

He spent years learning how to live in the sighted world. He joked about

quickly learning how to label all of his food after eating a hot bowl of fruit

cocktail. He shared that through his rehabilitation he had to turn to resources

he had turned his nose up against when he was a " yuppie " living in his " American

Dream " . One of these resources was an organization that works with the blind and

deaf. He stated that he questioned their business model…how could they not

charge for services?? How could this organization not charge for services and

exist on a budget that was equivalent to what his business used to spend on

golfing trips! He soon learned that their service was about helping people. He

shared that this changed his entire " view " of himself and his world. He now

visits the hospital cafeteria from time to time to just chat with people because

this is where is life took a dramatic turn. He then asked if I was a " parrot

head " aka Jimmy Buffet fan because he carries this quote with him and wanted to

share it with me. He pointed to his sunglasses and said…this is " a permanent

reminder of a temporary feeling. " I'm trying to wrap my head around the quote,

but the interaction was most amazing.

 

Love:

Danielle