Have you ever looked back on your life, on the choices you made, the paths you took, where those choices or paths led, and been able to see how they all connected? Recently, I paused to reflect on this condition I have called syringomyelia.
According to the website of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/syringomyelia/detail_syringomyelia.htm), “syringomyelia is a disorder in which a cyst forms within the spinal cord. This cyst, called a syrinx, expands and elongates over time, destroying a portion of the spinal cord from its center and expanding outward. As a syrinx widens, it compresses and injures nerve fibers that carry information from the brain to the extremities. Damage to the spinal cord often leads to progressive weakness in the arms and legs, stiffness in the back, shoulders, arms or legs, and chronic, severe pain.”
I was in the military when I began experiencing the symptoms that led to my diagnosis, and here’s where I began connecting the dots.
First, and this would be the inciting incident, my marriage failed. Next, my youngest child graduated so I didn’t have any children for whom I needed to care or make decisions. Third, my employer at the time decided that support personnel wouldn’t get a raise that year. The last factor is the direct one that led to my decision to rejoin the military.
Many people might feel a victim of fate or destiny or whatever because they developed the condition called syringomyelia. I don’t. You see, this was my second enlistment in the military with eight years between my first and second enlistments. When I separated from the military the first time, I had no expectation of going into the service again. Looking back, though, I can see how those factors all served to lead me to a decision that became the foundation on which I could be, and in fact, was, blessed.
When I really consider everything, the blessing in the path I took is clear as day. Just think about it. Can you imagine the costs of medical care that results from the diagnosis, operation to compress the syrinx, the ongoing care to manage the residual symptoms and the medicine I have to take? Even with great insurance, the co-pay and out-of-pocket costs would be substantial.
Instead, I rejoined the military, not realizing the importance of that decision to my future. It’s only when I look back that I see how the dots connect: marital failure plus no young children plus no raise equals decision to rejoin the military that led to being in the position to be blessed because I was in the military when the condition developed.
I was blessed in my finances by not having to shoulder the financial burden. I was blessed in my spirit by the care I was entitled to receive in order to help me deal with the chronic pain left due to the syrinx. I could go on and on, but it isn’t necessary. My blessings are mine, as your blessings are yours. Taking the time to connect the dots allows us to see and be grateful for our blessings or to learn something about ourselves that we can embrace or reject.
Can you connect the dots for any decisions or paths you took in your life? I’d love to hear about it!