[2022-01-04] The price of being alive

This morning, a friend responded to a comment I made about the challenges we all have by saying, "The challenges each of us face are the price of life."

I was quite struck by that statement. I thought of it a few times over the course of the day.
  1. As I waited for my blood work this morning (they were short-staffed, which meant that a task that normally requires 15-30 minutes took almost 90 minutes today), I reminded myself, "this is the price of being alive."
  2. As I listened to a friend describe the results of a series of medical tests, I thought again about the time and effort it takes to stay on top of our various health needs and said to her, "this is the price of being alive."
  3. As my daughter searched for an appointment for a COVID booster for a family member, I thought, "this is the price of being alive."
  4. As I received a call from the folks at the Radiation Unit of the Irving Greenberg Family Cancer Centre, checking whether I had any questions before my radiation therapy begins tomorrow, I thought, "this is the price of being alive."

Sometimes our health-related duties produce a happy result, which makes the struggle worth it.
  1. The upshot of today's blood work was good news on my CA125 level: it remains at 8, which is absolutely fabulous.
  2. The outcome of my friend's series of tests was good news.
  3. My daughter was able to advance a family member's opportunity for the COVID booster from February to January 5.
  4. The courtesy call from the cancer centre made me feel better prepared psychologically for the start of treatment.

Life does bring so many challenges, often more than we expect, sometimes more than we think we can handle. In those moments, it may help to remember that challenges (especially those related to health) and the lengths we go to overcome them are the price of being alive.