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The Man In The Bed By The Window
written by: Helen Dowd
The Man in the Bed By The Window
"Today is a GIFT, that's why it's called THE PRESENT."
"Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in Thee do I trust."
Psalm 143:8
""This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24.
The nurses wheeled Andrew into a room occupied by one other gentleman. As he slowly emerged from his anesthetic-induced stupor, he realized that he could not move. Nurses buzzed around his bed, discussing him and his condition. In the course of the confused discussions Andrew learned that he would have to lie flat on his back for several months.
It was a few hours later, as Andrew's mind began to function a little more clearly, that he turned his head and saw the man in the bed by the window. The poor fellow was sitting up, struggling for breath. Andrew groaned as he turned to see his room mate a little better. It was then, between wheezing and choking, that the man by the window turned his head toward Andrew. "Glad to see you comin' 'round," he said. "I'm a little luckier than you. I get to sit up for an hour every afternoon to help drain the fluid from my lungs."
From then on, during every hour they were awake, the two men talked constantly. They exchanged information about their families; their homes; what jobs they'd each had before tragedy struck; where they liked to vacation; what their hobbies had been. It seemed they never lacked topics of conversation to help relieve the boredom of their individual illnesses.
During the hour every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window was allowed to sit up, he would slowly ease his legs over the edge of the bed, and face the window. And then he would begin to describe to Andrew all the activities outside. Andrew lived for this hour when his world was broadened and enriched, as his friend would paint a visible picture of goings-on he was witness to in the outside world.
His room mate pictured a park with a lovely lake. He described the ducks and swans as they played on the water. He told of the little children who were throwing bread to the ducklings, and how they would glide toward the lake edge to be first to grab the offerings. He pictured how a couple of little boys were launching a sail boat on the water. With a soft tone of voice he portrayed for his room mate the romantic scene of several young lovers, walking hand-in-hand on the walkway by the lake. He named the several types of flowers which grew along the pat
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