Thread by @WesElyMD

1/🧵 Christmas Reflection on Gratitude

My patient today - IN THE ICU on Christmas - said:

“I’m sorry for complaining, Doctor. I realize that if I have time to complain, I have time to say ‘thank you’ too.”

WHOA!
 
I will be w my patients today & throughout the Holidays…

2/ …many of these people are suffering #COVID lung failure that might end their lives. For them & for me, it brings into perspective what matters.

In the picture above (1st tweet), we are with a recovering pt, letting her see the 🌞.

It’s for #Hope & a vision of her future

3/🎥 “It’s a Wonderful Life”

We watched this classic last night and it helped me think of how we all must be in community to lift one another up during these hard times…see ending clip here ☺️

…this message never gets old!

4/ George Bailey, after contemplating ending his life, says, “Atta boy, Clarence.” It’s a moment of sincere gratitude to a friend who helped him.
 
USEFUL TOOL: Saying 3 to 5 things I’m grateful for is a realistic way to regear my thinking when I’m sad or distressed.

5/ No matter where I am, IF I pay attention, there are “angels” around me. Others help me replace worry w something that brings joy.

The Holidays can be very tough, which is why I take Christmas ICU rotations…to learn from pts & families.

To offer reprieve.

6/ Here we are together today…all of us working to convert suffering into healing. This offers me hope for 2022.

I don’t have to consider only woe.

I can choose to work toward solutions, one patient and one problem at a time & let others help me.

(btw N95s in pt rooms)

7/Final thought…a keeper from a #Sage

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbor, and let every new year find you a better woman or man.” 🎁
 
Benjamin Franklin, 1755 edition of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”