This changes everything…

During my training as a doctor, I spent several months in the Pediatric Emergency Room. Babies with fever, kids with diarrhea and dehydration, asthmatics with breathing attacks — the common problems were common. The Director of the Pediatric Emergency Department was a thin woman, blonde, and well-organized. She never missed a day of work. The schedule was regimented, and everything ran smoothly. She would work several shifts during the week and had the same routine — arrive early, stop in the gift shop, buy a lottery ticket, a packet of gum, walk in to get report from the last doctor on shift, and then start working. We liked working with her because she would also teach with each medical case that she supervised. Mostly, we learned the common case protocols, but every now and then a strange medical issue showed up.

One day, she didn’t show up for work. She was on the schedule. What happened? She had called in sick. This was unusual. We didn’t see her for 3 days. The rumors were flying about. Was she in the hospital? Was she coming back?

That’s when the real story started to spread, she would be off for a couple weeks. She had won the lottery! The jackpot had been several million dollars.

I don’t know what she did in those weeks off, but I was told that she probably spoke to a lawyer. Eventually, she came back to work, but I think she was advised to stop working because of the liability. She stepped down as the head of the department at some point and just started taking a few shifts a month. Her life changed dramatically from this one little ticket. I wonder today how she felt. She was working her dream job, making a good living, and had worked hard to get here. Did she want to give it up? What would I do?

As I contemplate this New Year’s eve, the turning of the calendar is like a lottery ticket. I have no idea what it will bring. The only certainty is that time bring changes — expected and unexpected. I am grateful to turn the corner on a new year and look ahead with hope — that is my ticket. The best that I can do is adapt to whatever comes my way… but maybe… perhaps… I should also go out and buy a lottery ticket.