The Kindness of Strangers

I love PostSecret. I read it every Sunday morning. Some of the secrets depress me; others make me laugh out loud. Some make me cringe and some I really identify with. Some, at the risk of sounding like a jerk, I believe to be made up and not actual secrets. Others are so dark I can't imagine anyone making them up. Some are bright and simple; noting the happiness found in life's little surprises.

Today's secrets included one that reminded me I have some thanking of strangers to do.



The same thing happened to me twice last winter, and I have often wondered who came to my assistance. I'll never know, but I will always be grateful.

Unlike the person who sent this postcard in, I did not have a seizure. I don't know what happened to me either time. For the time being, I am chalking it up to exhaustion. I had a lot of mentally, emotionally and physically demanding things going on this past winter. I tend to think I am invincible and can take on anything and everything. Human nature, I suppose.

Here in Charleston, I collapsed in the Town Center mall. In Kansas City, I hit the bricks right before boarding a flight at KCI. I don't remember either incident. In Kansas City, however, I did experience something like the "my entire life flashing before my eyes" phenomenon that people sometimes experience. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as it is made out to be in movies. I can't remember exactly what I "saw" but I do remember it was just a bunch of random, seemingly inconsequential snapshots of places and things I recognized.

No matter how sane we are in our waking lives, our brains are crazy and complex things.

Anyway, when I got the ambulance bills a few months later, both referred to a 911 call being the source of dispatch. There was something strangely touching about that. I know that sounds cheesy, but I was filled with gratitude and (even more cheesy) love for whomever made those calls. I know it's something I would do if I saw someone go base over apex and lose consciousness. I know it's something pretty much any human being would do. But when you're the one that is in need of help, knowing that someone was paying attention and made the effort to call for help really means a lot. It's hard to be vulnerable like that, and it's a very uncomfortable realization that I was unconscious in unfamiliar places, by myself, surrounded by strangers. I don't like to think about it, but I do often think about the people who helped me, and I wish I could thank them. Since I can't thank them in person, I'll just send it out to the universe via my blog.

Dear persons who helped me when I needed it,
Thank you.