I was so happy and excited that my In-Laws will be in town. Only if I had known earlier that my father-in-law is not keeping too well I could have done something sooner to help. But I guess there are certain things which are not in our control. It had been just two days and he didn’t look too well.
As a regular working day, I and my husband were off to work. My husband reached home early and witnessed his father not responding too well and the blood pressure shoot up. He immediately took the decision to take him to the hospital. I rushed from the office. Upon reaching in the emergency room, his blood pressure went up even more. On getting some tests done, we got to know his Sodium levels have really gone down.
Being a diabetic patient, a person who has high blood pressure and sodium levels being so low is a deadly combination. An individual with high blood pressure has to decrease the salt intake in his diet. But if the sodium is low at that time, how does one give salt at all? This was something which only could be taken care of in the hospital only. We were all in this helpless and panic situation.
From there he was shifted in the ICU. Seeing him in the ICU really shook us all up. Day and night we were there sitting outside just to see a glimpse of him. Days kept passing by, we were on leaves. All that while we kept praying to God for his recovery. It took days for those levels to become normal.
With my father in law being hospitalized and being in the ICU, a million thoughts kept running in my mind. I read this quote and it made me ponder over it –
“Everything else can wait”
A quote I personally feel is so true. When our near & dear ones are unwell or in the hospital, we react very differently. Some can show pain they are experiencing, while others cannot. A panic situation occurs due to which we forget to eat, drink, sleep and most importantly take care of ourselves.
These are the times when you need to remind yourself that only if you are fit and fine and taking care of yourself, you can take care of the person who is there in the hospital or unwell. Sometimes even at work, such situations arise. You have a pile of files on your desk, some urgent meetings on which you have to go or some deadlines which you have to meet. At this time you tend to skip your meals and keep working on your computer. In short, you ignore what your body needs. You don’t take care of yourself.
Certain reminders which will help you when you are going through a tough time as there are somethings which can wait –
- Your work can wait. Take out time from your schedule to eat. If you have energy then only you can work. Even if you have to take a day off, take it.
- Taking out time for yourself and get some rest too. In a situation like in a hospital, even your health will start to degrade if you are not eating and sleeping well.
- By eating properly you will get the energy to travel to and fro from your home to any other place.
- Remember, If you take care of yourself, you can take care of others too.
- If you need to take some medicines, don’t skip them.
- When you are leaving for office or college, eat a healthy breakfast. While you are in a hurry, you skip your breakfast which is the most important meal of the day.
- It is equally essential to prioritize tasks. As in some situations, we become so helpless and our mind seems blocked. Think about where to have to be and what is next on your list.
By God’s grace and endless prayers, my father-in-law now is keeping well. Life is uncertain. The greatest therapy is that of love and care. Don’t forget to take care of your loved ones. Be their pillar of strength and stand by them but take care of yourself first.
P.S: You are not selfish if you take care of yourself.
“Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean Me First, it means Me Too”
L.K. Knost
