My wife cried The Other Day…, after she hung up the phone. As I walked into the room, she looked at me with those sad, disappointed eyes, and said, “They cancelled my surgery.” Then she continued to express her disappointment through her tears. I have no way of expressing how we both were feeling at the moment. We had done everything the doctors, physicians assistants, and other people in the medical profession had asked of us. We kept the appointments, we saw the specialists, we took the diet advice, we worked hard, and we waited and hoped. Finally, our patience and hard work was about to be rewarded. Then, in an instant, we found ourselves stuck on the island of disappointment with only four days to go before the surgery. All that time and effort suddenly seemed like it had been for nothing. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you why my wife’s surgery was cancelled. You already know. Covid-19.
My wife has been dealing with the fact that her hips were disintegrating, and she was fighting a losing battle with being able to walk or ridding herself of the constant pain while she tried to endure her everyday life. That was one of the main reasons she had to retire and give up the work she so enjoyed. It has been a long, tedious battle for both of us. Then, last year, a glimmer of hope appeared on September 15, 2020. Even with the pandemic banging at our door, they replaced her left hip. We were both hopeful that once it was done and she recovered, half the battle would be behind us. She was in bad shape at the time of her surgery, and I questioned whether or not she would recover. But, hey, this is a cancer survivor we are talking about here. She took it all like a trooper. The medical staff was actually impressed with how well she did. The recovery wasn’t easy, but it went much better than we had anticipated. That encouraged us both to try and get the second hip replaced as soon as she was able. I asked the doctor when he thought we could get to the other surgery, and he told me that it would likely be February of 2021. Well, that month came and went because of the virus. We were disappointed with the set back, but we dealt with it. At that time, there was some good news on the horizon. It came in the form of a vaccine. We figured that if everyone went out and got their shots like my wife and I did, all would be well once again. The hospital notified us that her new surgery date was set. It was going to be May 27th. We were filled with anticipation and started to think about the things we could do when it was over. Then, a week before that surgery, came another cancellation. Her doctors had changed their minds and decided that they wanted her to lose more weight before operating. Talk about a kick in the stomach!
We went to work right away at getting her weight lowered to the number they had set. (Never mind the fact that she had basically starved herself already). In the meantime, the covid numbers were going down, and things were looking bright for a change. We felt certain that things would soon be back to normal and she would be able to have her surgery and get her life back. Boy, were we wrong!
It was sometime in July of 2021 when the phrase “The Delta Variant” took center stage in our home. It was the month we dropped to 950 cases and everything was looking good. My wife had reached her goal weight. She could have the surgery. All we had to do was wait for the hospital to tell us when.
September 14th was set as her new target date. We were pumped! Everyone on the doctors’ side of things said go, go, go. Then it was announced that in our state of WV, the newly reported cases of the Delta virus were growing at the fastest rate in the country. Some 22,000 cases had been reported since July, and the numbers were leap frogging every day. Wow!
It is difficult to comprehend at times how this could all be happening. I mean, I, for one, thought that everyone was tired of dealing with this virus and tired of the restrictions and not being able to do the things we used to love to do without fear of death. I mean, there was a vaccine and anyone who was over 12 could get it, so what was the problem? Well, it turns out that even though on a national level 70% of the nation’s population is vaccinated, less than 50% of our state’s population has been vaccinated. (At least, at the time I write this, those numbers are accurate). Hospitals are filled to capacity with infected West Virginians who are fighting for their lives. Far too many, unfortunately, are losing that fight. So, as much as I hate to say it, the citizens in our state are facing serious illness, and possibly death, because of the inaction or indecision by a section of the population about whether to vaccinate or not.
I have always been a positive person and have always loved life and wanted to live for as long as I possibly could. So, forgive me, but it is hard for me to comprehend people choosing to risk death over living life to the fullest. I mean, it’s just a shot. Is your life, and the life of those you love, not worth a little jab in the arm? Yes, it may be your choice, but we humans make lots of choices in our life, and not all of them are good choices. However, you need to remember, whatever choices we make in this life, there will always be consequences. And, it just so happens that in the case of covid, those consequences reach beyond our own inner circle. Because of the high numbers and the hospitals being filled to capacity, they canceled my wife’s surgery once again, until future notice. From our end, we are heartbroken.
How would you feel if you had to use a walker to get around, on days you could even move at all? How would you like being dependent on someone all the time to do things for you because you can’t do them for yourself? How about being in constant pain? How much fun do you think that is? Some of you older folks out there can relate, but maybe some of the younger people should think about it for a while. As for me, I am tired and frustrated and angry and would like to lash out at everyone for not getting their shots so that we could kill this virus once and for all, but I won’t. Many, many of those people are facing a future that I don’t want to be a part of. They may think their future is bright, but take it from me, things change in an instant. There are many who have suffered from this terrible disease and admitted near the end of their life that they had made a mistake by ignoring the sound advice from our care givers. However, at that point, it’s too late to do anything. It’s a case of closing the barn door after all the animals have escaped. I also have to pray for our children under 12 who are facing the rising tide of this disease and don’t yet have a vaccine, leaving them defenseless and helpless. They depend on those around them to keep them safe. To me, that means wearing a mask in public places and taking a shot in the arm when you can. I could rant and rave like others have chosen to do, but I won’t. Life is hard enough, and for those who are unvaccinated, well, good luck on seeing that future you are hoping for.
Please, hear my plea. If you have not been vaccinated, please do so. I’m so tired of people dying from this virus. Many of them are people my age. However, now, Covid is settling into our young people. I lost a child once, if you recall, and there is nothing worse. I would not wish it on my worst enemy. So, if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for someone you love. We really do need to ban together and get on the same side of battling this dreadful killing machine.
As for me and my wife? Well, we are waiting our turn, yet again, for her surgery. It looks like it could be November now. However, this time, we aren’t getting our hopes up. I don’t think that it’s going to happen then either, because our numbers aren’t slowing down enough. We have GOT to find a way to get more shots into more arms, or this state as we know it is going to be gone. Then what? Maybe someone out there who thinks they have the answers could answer that for me.
You know, when I first began thinking of retirement, I was excited. I planned to travel with my wife, go visit my sister in Idaho, and well, enjoy my golden years. Now, I just sit here and hope we both can stay healthy long enough to make it through to my wife’s next surgery. It’s not so funny how life works out sometimes. But, it’s too late to cry over “spilt milk,” isn’t it?
Hey, until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and PLEASE, go get vaccinated if you need to. I will thank you, your fellow West Virginians will thank you, your nation will thank you. MUH!!
