It's been so long since I've been sick that I've forgotten how it feels like to not feel like 100% of yourself. The feeling of weakness to the point that you struggle to get out of bed, or the chest tightness, or the muscle pains.
It reminds me of my patients, with their strokes and injuries, and their multiple problems and morbidities. With their spastic muscles and their struggle to undergo their daily activities, and the need to put in extra effort and energy just to overcome the weaknesses of their bodies, day in, day out.
There is value in illness.
It reminds me to be grateful to be blessed with health, for my usual endless energy. As a doctor, it is a reminder to empathize with my patients, in a situation where it's too easy for a possibility to become detached from the job. It's a stark reminder to take care of my health, for it is something that could easily be taken anytime.
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