OT: The Things We Take for Granted....

[Renegade 13]

Yesterday afternoon, I was trying to get my mom's snowmobile running. Thinking there may be some water or ice in the gas lines/gas tank, I bought and put some methyl hydrate (gas line antifreeze) into the tank. Now, when I was opening the little bottle, some of the methyl hydrate splashed up onto my face, and nearly in my eyes...if I hadn't somehow seen the stuff coming, my eyes would have gotten the splash, not my eyelids.

Why am I telling you this?? Well methyl hydrate, if swallowed, can cause blindness and death. I'm sure that if you get it in your eyes, it can also cause blindness. To be honest, it scared me how close I might have come to being blinded by such a seemingly innocent thing. It made me think of all the things that most people take for granted, such as eyesight. It got me to thinking...what would I do if I couldn't see?? How would it change my life, and how does it affect all those people who ARE blind??

Simply put, it made me very grateful for the things that most people take for granted, and don't even think about on an everyday basis. Things like eyesight, hearing, and other things like those. It made me realize that we shouldn't take such things for granted, that at any moment we could lose them, to something so simple....like trying to get a parent's snowmobile running properly.

I know that I won't take for granted the things I have, which I guess makes my little accident a good thing. Because who knows when it may all be taken away??

[Caduceus]

This post got me thinking... As some of you may know, I'm a doctor. When I was in medical school I was working in Surgery with a resident who thought she knew it all. As we went into a room to change the dressings on a surgical patient who had hepatitis (liver disease caused by a viral infection), I placed a splash guard on my mask and handed her one. She laughed it off and proceeded to change dressings and got fluid in her eyes. She went on to get tested and thankfully didn't contract hepatitis from contaminated fluids, but this definitely took her down a peg or two. She later apologized to me for having been so haughty and forever after observed simple medical safety precautions.

[Raging Deadstar]

It's why I can never stay angry at friends. The Most important thing to me are my friends, the thought that any of them could be taken away any moment makes me thankful for them every morning.

[AgentZero]

Well one thing I don't take for granted these days is my eyesight. Just found out recently I've got a lovely case of Night Blindness. During the day, everything's fine, but as soon as it gets nice and dark I can't see a thing beyond a couple metres.

[Baron Munchausen]

That can be a warning sign of serious health problems. How often do you visit a doctor?

[Slynky]

I think, if I can speak without sounding like the proverbial "old guy of wisdom", the older we get, the less we take for granted. Sometimes, I lament the things I wish I could do, have, or that I had this feature or that. But I realize much more quickly now that I'm lucky. And shouldn't waste any time on lamenting.

But don't let that small (lucky) lesson be forgotten. My brother-in-law had a horrible car accident when he was 17. Life flight and the whole thing. Intensive care for days. Nearly died. He was a changed guy. Started working at the local church youth group building. Saw life in a different way. But, just recently, I learned he (age 24) speeds around the streets now, in his Toyota Celica, showing off for the younger kids he has in his car (our son, for example). Seems he has started taking life for granted again.

You show wisdom beyond your age, R-13. Don't ever forget the horror carelessness can bring you!

[AgentZero]

Baron Munchausen said:
That can be a warning sign of serious health problems. How often do you visit a doctor?

Well, lessee, if the current trend is anything to go by, about once every four years. Although November of Last year I was laid up in hospital for 6 weeks, I think I'm all caught up on my doctor's appointments now. Seriously though, if there is something majorly wrong with me, I don't have the money to get it fixed so I'd rather not know.

And AT, cheer up for Gs sake! My grandfather had a colourful expression I hope I won't get in too much trouble for repeating here: "Life is like a dirty whore. It's the most beautiful thing, you just gotta look real hard to see it."

[Kamog]

When I broke my leg I realized that I took walking for granted. Moving around on crutches was very slow and inconvenient. I couldn't go up or down stairs and I couldn't walk on to or off the sidewalk because of the little step, so I had to always look for a ramp. Everyday activities like taking a shower, getting dressed, and shopping were painful and very difficult. It took many months for me to get back to normal. But when I think of people in wheelchairs, I realize that what I experienced was nothing compared to them.

[Instar]

Wrist + deli slicer for me.... darn lucky I was. Lesson: pay attention to sharp blades!

[Jack Simth]

Nothing quite like chronic asthma to keep you from taking breathing for granted.