Rush
Cool Cruncher
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This story has really touched my heart strings
So refreshing to hear of joy and happiness while all around us seems so depressing
In a world of gloom a ray of light
- Thread starter Rush
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What world of gloom? Life, as they say, is what you make it.
There's more good than bad, there really is but nice things don't sell newspapers or make headlines, we only get to hear mostly about the crap.
My life ain't exactly brimming over with jolliness but I'm still optimistic.
It's a British thing, perhaps, this pessimism and sense of gloom, the Brits love to moan.
Or is it a human thing?
Anyway, a fine story indeed
My nephew (now 24 years old) had meningitis when he was about eight years old, it was touch and go for five days and during that time at the hospital there were always between 20 and 50 friends and family in attendance. A scary time but Paul's still here and is a father himself now.
There's more good than bad, there really is but nice things don't sell newspapers or make headlines, we only get to hear mostly about the crap.
My life ain't exactly brimming over with jolliness but I'm still optimistic.
It's a British thing, perhaps, this pessimism and sense of gloom, the Brits love to moan.
Or is it a human thing?
Anyway, a fine story indeed
My nephew (now 24 years old) had meningitis when he was about eight years old, it was touch and go for five days and during that time at the hospital there were always between 20 and 50 friends and family in attendance. A scary time but Paul's still here and is a father himself now.
cirianz
Chatter Box
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No, not just a Brittish thing, it is definitely not a part of our Kiwi self image to see ourselves as a bunch of whiners but really we just aren't happy if we don't have something to moan about 
I remember when I broke my back a figured right from the start that, since I was going to be stuck in that hospital for a very long time with no painkillers except panadol & neurofen, if I whined on about how much it hurt & how scared I was it would not be very long before people stopped comming to see me. No one likes hospitals to start with, to have to go in to one in order to sit there & listen to me whinge would quickly lose appeal, so I decided that I would be happy, and smile & not tell people about the pain, not out of heroic braveness, but more a rather desperate sense of deduced self interest.
All well and good & I certainly learned some very useful skills from the experience, but the funny bit was in about my 5th week in hospital when a nurse, who knew all the physiology involved in a broken spine, and all the nerve damage done in this particular case and should have known better medically at least, nevertheless, came to the conclusion that, because I wasn't complaining about it I musn't be feeling any pain and stopped my pain meds.
When I objected and pointed out that I was actually in considerable pain her face was a picture of total confusion and she said "But you should've told US (Nurses)!"
And when I asked her Why & pointed out that, since there was absolutely nothing that any of them could do about it for me to keep on about how much it hurt would've achieved nothing and just made them feel like sh*t.
She just sat there, mouthing nothings, her face a picture of blank confusion.
I think I damaged her universe.
But seeing her flailing around trying to grasp the concept of someone having 'bad things' happen to them & NOT talking about it. And knowing that her assumptions about how people respond to pain were so strong that they overbore all of her medical knowledge, training and even straightforward logic, really made me take a good look at myself and at our culture & I had to conclude that, even way down here in the so called 'stoic' South.... well.... if it ain't being complained about... it ain't happening
And we think we are the 'strong silent types'
"She'll be right mate"
*wanders off humming 'Southern Man'*
***For Non New Zealanders 'The South' equals Otago, central Otago & southland.
I remember when I broke my back a figured right from the start that, since I was going to be stuck in that hospital for a very long time with no painkillers except panadol & neurofen, if I whined on about how much it hurt & how scared I was it would not be very long before people stopped comming to see me. No one likes hospitals to start with, to have to go in to one in order to sit there & listen to me whinge would quickly lose appeal, so I decided that I would be happy, and smile & not tell people about the pain, not out of heroic braveness, but more a rather desperate sense of deduced self interest.
All well and good & I certainly learned some very useful skills from the experience, but the funny bit was in about my 5th week in hospital when a nurse, who knew all the physiology involved in a broken spine, and all the nerve damage done in this particular case and should have known better medically at least, nevertheless, came to the conclusion that, because I wasn't complaining about it I musn't be feeling any pain and stopped my pain meds.
When I objected and pointed out that I was actually in considerable pain her face was a picture of total confusion and she said "But you should've told US (Nurses)!"
And when I asked her Why & pointed out that, since there was absolutely nothing that any of them could do about it for me to keep on about how much it hurt would've achieved nothing and just made them feel like sh*t.
She just sat there, mouthing nothings, her face a picture of blank confusion.
I think I damaged her universe.
But seeing her flailing around trying to grasp the concept of someone having 'bad things' happen to them & NOT talking about it. And knowing that her assumptions about how people respond to pain were so strong that they overbore all of her medical knowledge, training and even straightforward logic, really made me take a good look at myself and at our culture & I had to conclude that, even way down here in the so called 'stoic' South.... well.... if it ain't being complained about... it ain't happening
And we think we are the 'strong silent types'
"She'll be right mate"
*wanders off humming 'Southern Man'*
***For Non New Zealanders 'The South' equals Otago, central Otago & southland.
Rush
Cool Cruncher
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I must agree .....Flops does certainly put a very concious perspective view on things and he makes me think hey F*** the tabloids...just go out and view the world for all its greatness...and think a little before posting ....cheers mod 