Appendicitis

There lived a boy.  Each summer, much like other children of his age, he spent at his grandmother’s place.  He spent entire days playing with friends, running through the streets, riding a bike, playing soccer, playing hide and seek, playing war; he came home only to eat, to grab some candy to take outside, and toward evening, to sleep.

A few days in a row his right side was hurting.  The pain was getting worse slowly and finally got so bad that, when he woke up one morning, he was moving from the bed to the couch and back from the couch to the bed to get some relief.  The pain didn’t go away and when his grandmother came home for lunch, he barely ate a tip of the spoon’s worth of mashed potatos and begged to go back to bed.

– Is it your appendix?  – asked the grandmother.  – I don’t know.  – It hurts terribly.  – The boy was looking at his grandmother while she approached the phone.  – Should I call an ambulance?  – No…  – Can a person die from an appendicitis?  – Yes, if it ruptures.  – Then, call an ambulance.  The fear of death outweighed the fear of the examination by a doctor.

The ambulance was quick.  The male nurse felt the boy’s stomach and said that he should be examined by a surgeon.  With tears the grandmother sent the boy to the hospital and went to ask to leave early from work in order to follow her grandson.  At the hospital, after a short examination, the surgeon said:  “Immediately into surgery”.

The grandmother’s call saved the boys life.  His appendix started rupturing shortly before the surgery.  Later on, the doctor said that the next day would have been too late.

Epilogue

There are moments in life when it is critical to ask for help in time.  One may have an “appendicitis” in one’s soul, an “appendicitis” that has to be properly cleaned, or entirely removed, in order to avoid spiritual death.

Unrepented sins contaminate the soul, make it dark, unhappy, restless, deprived of inner peace.  Remembering of wrongs, envy, anger, avarice, lust, moral downfalls, lies, laziness, pride, self-love, self-will, and other sins and passions poison the heart, make it hard, cold, cruel, unable to love.

The one, who has experienced a serious illness, values good health above money and worldly goods.  Let us, therefore, before all else take proper care for the well-being of our soul.  Let us cleanse our hearts with sincere repentance.  Let us forgive our offenders and enemies.  Let us abandon excessive anxiety about the coming day.  Then, we will come to know how invaluable the spiritual health is.