Taking Nothing For Granted: I remember 1991.

It was around this time in October, 1991 when I suffered from a dangerous case of food poisoning. That was a classic example of a gradual process of dying. Right before my eyes, my life was slipping away at a horrific pace. But I thank God for His grace, great luck and a good, prompt medical attention at the Eko Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. I survived the ordeal. I was given so many injections and I.V. bottles that I thought there would be no more spaces on my butt and hands to punch holes with needles.

And I thought there was something extraordinary about my medical case---until I heard about some rich, powerful corporate C.E.O. in the room next to mine. He was suffering from renal failure, “a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter waste products from the blood”. And just opposite my room was a woman, said to be the wife of a top shot in the government. She was suffering from colorectal cancer. This is “also known as colon cancer, rectal cancer or bowel cancer, a type of cancer that attacks the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine)”.

When I heard of those more serious medical cases, I felt ashamed that I had made a big deal about my ordinary case of food poisoning. It didn’t matter to me anymore that by the time I was brought to the hospital, my heart, liver, kidneys and other vital organs were diagnosed to be at their lowest ebb. It was also no longer important that my doctor said, had I not got to the hospital at the time I did, there was a strong possibility of a massive heart attack. At that moment, what mattered to me was the sad news that the two hapless patients mentioned above did not survive their ailments!

Since then, I resolved to never take any good thing in my life for granted. So far, I have been richly blessed with all the good things of life. But even the mundane stuff pale insignificantly and grossly little when compared to my great physical and mental endowments. And there were great bonuses in the persons of a most wonderful wife and joyfully-enriching children for whom I will do anything to appreciate, protect and daily thank the almighty God.