Patience

Just over a month ago, my wife's younger brother had a heart attack. It was the Friday evening of Peach Days and he was taken to the Emergency Room of our local hospital.

From there he was transported by ambulance to a hospital in Ogden.

Right after arriving there, he went into cardiac arrest.

He was revived in the ER and then monitored daily in the Intensive Care Unit.

Since that day, he has had bloating due to the massive amounts of fluid pumped into him during resuscitation, a bacterial infection in his lungs, a bleeding ulcer, a week on what I call the rotisserie ( a rotating bed that he laid face down on), loss of the 25 extra pounds of fluid they initially gave him, blood clots in his lungs, a tracheotomy so he could breathe, a short couple of days in a rehab facility before developing a fever and distended stomach, so was rushed back to the hospital and is now awaiting word about the possibility of another surgery.

He was unconscious for a good portion of all this, but has been awake now for about a week and a half. And he's growing tired of it all. Can't blame him.

He can't talk to us because of the tracheotomy, can't eat so they feed him through a tube. We did have a day when we were able to set up his laptop and he typed out a couple of things for us but he is so weak, even that didn't last long.

Last night, following his transfer back to the hospital, I had the opportunity to give him a priesthood blessing. During the blessing, I was prompted to counsel him to be patient. Here I am, standing by his bed side, hands on his head, telling him to be patient, after all he has already experienced.

But it was what I was prompted to say.

And I know that soon, if he has patience, he will be able to look back at this time and be greatful for the experience. Sounds a little weird. But it will work out.

None of us have the opportunity to choose what circumstances will come our way each day. Sure, we can do things that have an effect on some things, but for the most part, we have to take what's dished out. The important thing to remember is, we each have a choice as to how we will react to what comes our way. And we can learn and grow from it, and be greatful for the experience, and it will allow us to grow, if we let it.

"Patience is a virtue"