Thank you Patty. What I try to convey by sharing my experience is that when we are faced with serious illness - we all have a choice to make. I chose to try to be positive, kind and hopeful. It wasn’t always easy - as there were many dark days. Being hospitalized alone during COVID meant that I was totally dependent on nurses, doctors and nurses aides. Treating them kindly made my time in the hospital better.
For instance, my first month at MGH - I was in a room that looked out on a brick wall - about 2ft from the window in my room. I couldn’t tell whether it was day or night. When the only room on the floor that had a window that overlooked the Charles River in Boston - opened up, my nurses rushed to make sure I got that room. I was able to watch spring turn to summer from that room, and I am forever grateful to those nurses who recognized how much I could benefit from just having a window to the outside world. I am convinced that they did this because of the way I treated them.
Pickleball is incredibly fun - but I would be careful - especially with 2 new hips!