Two men, both seriously
ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed
for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was
next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on
his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and
families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service,
where they had been on vacation.
Every afternoon when the
man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing
to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began
to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and
enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a
park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children
sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of
every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window
described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room
would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man
by the window described a parade passing by.
Although the other man
couldn’t hear the band – he could see it. In his mind’s eye as the gentleman by
th! e window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse
arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the
man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and
called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed
appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The
nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable,
she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he
propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world
outside.
He strained to slowly turn
to look out the window beside the bed.
It faced a blank wall. The
man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had
described such wonderful things outside this window
The nurse responded that
the man was blind and could not even see the wall.
She said, “Perhaps he just
wanted to encourage you.”
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