Dr. Laura asked, "What was the most thoughtful thing someone has done for you when you were sick or ill?" Here are only a few of the inspiring responses:
Lou:
When my deceased husband was in the last few months of his life, a good friend of mine every other week sent a cheery card in which she stated simply, "I care." Since there was nothing to be done about his illness, her cards and words brightened many of those days.
Gail:
Our son has a serious illness, cystic fibrosis, and has been in and out of the hospital since he was born. Although he manages to work, he does have much therapy to maintain his health. Despite this, he has managed to twice become ill to the point of crisis in the past two years. Due to a problem with an IV med, he went into acute renal failure. We were at his bedside 24/7 for a week, as he was on continuous dialysis.
A dear friend brought in a huge basket of things that would refresh the family. I think she completely understood our needs, because her own daughter, twelve years ago, was in a serious car accident and spent months in the hospital herself.
Among the items: water, juice, citrus fruits, apples, nuts, candy bars, cookies, health bars, mints, chewing gum, facial freshening wipes, notebook, pens. I loved her for the gesture of love, and recently was able to pay it forward to another friend during her hospital crisis.
I should mention that our son survived what seemed like an impossible situation, and his kidneys healed in time!
Mariah:
I don't know how this worked out, but when I was in middle school, I was going in for eye surgery, and a friend of mine was this really nice girl from Japan. She made me some twenty or so Origami cranes. They were hanging in my locker for months after the surgery. I was happy to have them and she told me that it was her way of wishing me well. Later, I felt bad for her, because I learned the family she was staying with were not so understanding of her culture and thought she was weird. They told her not to give me the cranes, but just a card. I cherished the cranes over the card any day, and I still want to learn how to make those in return. It was nice of her to give something I still cherish in my heart.
Kathy:
While being treated for melanoma that required being hospitalized a week at a time, my sister decided not to leave me alone. After her first visit with me and seeing the harsh treatment I was going through, each hospital stay, she would not let me be left alone at night. After working all day, she would sleep in a chair. She would be there all night to help me through the nausea, getting me to the bathroom, covering me up with blankets, uncovering me when I got hot, etc. Each morning she would get up around 5:30am, make sure I was comfortable, and then head off to work. Yes, I had nurses to take care of me, but she said since I, as her older sister, always looked after her when we were younger, it was her turn to look after me. We have always been close, but it was a wonderful thing to just call her name and know she was there. I never thought we could be closer but we are. God bless her.
