MISS ELLIE

You know, it’s not so much the cards life deals you, but rather what you do with them.  This was really driven home to me by Mrs. Ellie, a new resident of one of the nursing homes I used to oversee for Baton Rouge General.    

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to our nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Ellie, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it ... "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.”  

So whenever I feel sorry about a difficult situation that life has handed me, I just remember Mrs. Ellie and “decide ahead of time” that I’ve been dealt a winning hand!

Until next time...Dr Bob

The Power of Praise

I recently read that the Grammys, the Golden Globes and Annual Academy Award shows won’t be televised this year, probably won’t even be streamed due, in part, to the Omicron pandemic but also due to a lack of interest by viewing audiences.  Were those shows more for the viewing audience or, more likely, for the performers being honored?

What a show!  An auditorium filled with world famous actors, actresses, directors, and other professionals—people that we’d say “have it all.”  Yet, they were all gathered there hoping for the one thing that their money and fame can’t buy:  The recognition of their achievements by their peers.

British philosopher Samuel Johnson once said, “Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.”  And, in this way, we are all alittle like Denzel Washington, Hallie Berry, or Ron Howard:  We all want the pleasure of seeing our achievements recognized. 

In healthcare, like most of life’s pursuits, its easy to focus on the negatives, what went wrong, what didn’t meet our expectations.  Yet daily, there are literally hundreds of opportunities to recognize and applaud what is positive, what went right, and those around us who met and exceeded our expectations.  Look around.  Catch someone being good.  Give someone that pat on the back they deserve.  Say “thanks.”  Let someone experience that same thrill that everyone at those award shows are hoping for: The recognition of their achievements by their peers.  Because life is a self-fulfilling prophecy:  Expect the success and you’ll get success.