There’s Beauty in the Waiting

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There’s Beauty in the Waiting

I’m writing this from the waiting room at clinic today and there’s something about waiting rooms that has changed for me since diagnosis.

Pre-diagnosis waiting rooms used to be so annoying, so time-consuming, and such a nuisance. But something I’ve learned since diagnosis is that there’s beauty in the waiting.

Waiting rooms are filled with so much emotion. You just have to take a minute to look up from your phone to see what I mean. There are so many emotions happening in the same waiting room, feelings of dread, defeat, worry, anxiousness, fear, anger, and most of all, love.

Maybe it’s because of my diagnosis, but I feel like I’m most often the youngest person in the room. I also usually go to my appointments alone. So sometimes during my clinic days, I spend hours between appointments, and I find myself doing a lot of people watching in the waiting area.You can see husbands taking care of their wives, wives pushing their husbands around in wheelchairs, adult children with their elderly parents or grandparents, and most importantly, if you look hard enough, you will see so much love happening all around you.

We often mistake love to be grand gestures, we think love means all the candles, bells, and whistles... but something waiting rooms have taught me is that love looks a lot like sitting beside someone while they wait for treatment or even a diagnosis. Now love looks like pushing someone in a wheelchair, taking them to appointments, and holding their hand while they get some of the most important news of their lives.It’s super cool to see and honestly gives me all the feels.

There’s something beautiful in the waiting friends. For everyone who is waiting for a diagnosis, test results, or waiting with a friend or family member, I see you. And I feel what you’re feeling, often. But just know that there’s something magical that takes place in the waiting rooms if you take a second to look around.

Meet the Author

Gerry is a pulmonary arterial hypertension and congestive heart failure patient advocate. In her spare time when she's not fighting the good Phight for her fellow patients, she's taking care of her twin boys or chasing sunsets at the beach. You can find her on Instagram @itsgerrylangan and follow her medical journey!