I promised last week that this week would be lighter. Well, kinda. You can’t make these up!
I pulled up in front of a nursing-home-type facility. Large parking lot, but I could see only one person. Something didn’t look right. She was standing at one corner of the lot, looking down so that her body formed an upside-down “L” over her walker.
“Janice?” I called out. Nothing. I tried once more. “Are you Janice?”
She looked over at me, but only her head moved. “Yes, I’m Janice. Are you my Uber? I might have been asleep when you pulled up. I have narcolepsy.”
As I helped her into the car, I noticed a very large sore on the back of her leg. Our trip was scheduled for almost an hour. Destination? The Emergency Room in Crestview, Florida.
“Before we get on the road, would you mind stopping across the street so I can get one of those iced coffees?” she asked. As I reached for her walker, she said, “I don’t need that. We won’t be walking far.”
Janice continued to walk in the bent-over fashion. I helped her with the massive, movie-sized iced coffee and showed it to the cashier before moving toward the car. As I turned around, she was trying to assemble two hot dogs. Eventually, we made it back to the car.
“I definitely needed something to eat before I get in that hospital,” she explained.
We started with the usual small talk. Then, I got an amazing history of Janice’s life. She had a mile-long list of health challenges.
“I’ve had some tough times all of my life, but our time here on earth is a quick blink compared to eternity. I know God is there when my life is over, and that gives me comfort.”
She meant it. Then, she continued to tell me about her personal life. She only met her biological father fairly recently. Her mom had married someone else when she was young. Her stepdad was abusive, and her mom was often drunk or on drugs.
(I have to apologize for the timelines throughout this story. Janice wasn’t confused, but I was having a hard time as she jumped back and forth.)
“I spent most of my youth in an orphanage. That was one of the best times in my life. I knew that I would eat, where I would sleep, and loved the people who took care of me.”
“I knew that out of a hundred kids, I was a favorite. I could tell because my punishment was always lighter than the other kids.”
We skipped back and forth among different phases of her life. She had been married at one time, had two kids, one of whom had died in his twenties or early thirties.
Janice herself suffered through bouts of anxiety and depression throughout her life. Her doctors experimented with numerous pills, which she hated. She always felt like she was in a fog.
“At one point, I started taking just a few of each bottle they gave me and threw the unfinished bottles under the sink. When I ran out of room, I gathered up all of the bottles and put them in my dress pockets. There were probably hundreds of pills.”
“I went to a convenience store, bought a giant soft drink, and took all of them. I told someone in my family what I’d done. I went into a coma for 40 days. They did not think I would live. I didn’t know I had come out of the coma for another three days.”
She told me that years later, she weaned herself off the pills without telling her doctors. They kept trying different medicines, but none of them made her feel normal.
“I finally just told the nurse that the last one we tried was working, so they wouldn’t keep prescribing something else. After I was completely off of them, I’ve never felt better.”
She continued recounting different parts of her life until we arrived at the emergency room.
“I’m so disappointed that our ride is over. I feel like I only got to 14 years old. I have so much more.”
I don’t doubt that for one second. What I’m left with, however, is her statement that our time on earth is nothing compared to eternity. God bless her. She’s paid a price for this life. I hope she’s right about the rest of eternity!
As wild as this ride was, I’ll wait until next week to tell you about my very next passenger. Maybe picking up Janice was the reason for my next rider. I normally wouldn’t have been anywhere near.
Until next week,
God Bless,
Tommy