I once heard a story,
That forever changed my life,
Of a man who was struck,
When another chose to text and drive,
And though he did not lose his life,
He told me he lost much more,
Like the ability to do any of the things,
He was able to do before,
He could not move a single muscle,
From below his neck,
And the biggest tragedy to his story,
His wife left him after the wreck,
He spoke of years of marriage,
And all their children together,
For if this was her instead of me, he said,
I would not have left her ever,
My chest began to hurt,
As my heart began to break,
The selfishness in this world today,
Was more than I could take,
I looked him in the eye,
As tears ran down my cheeks,
And for the first time in my profession,
This patient was a person to me,
How could he look at me and smile,
And tell me it would all work out okay,
How could a man be full of faith,
When so much was taken away,
I do not know the reasons,
These were the cards that he was handed,
But a society as one,
We take everything for granted,
We brag and act like what we have,
Cannot be taken away tomorrow,
Now all my problems seem so small,
When I think of this man’s sorrow,
And each day that’s passed since we met,
I have thanked the Lord above,
And I’ll never forget what this man taught me,
About how to measure my cup.
Words from a registered nurse.