Waiting, uncomfortably

Have a seat. Or two.
Montreal, QC
December 2018
This photo originally shared on Instagram

If the waiting is indeed the hardest part, I'd like to politely suggest it's because the seats profoundly suck. In fairness, you wouldn't expect hospital waiting room chairs to be as comfortable as a La-Z-Boy recliner. The people who chose and purchased these particular chairs when Richard Nixon was in office likely did so as an afterthought, a last-on-the-to-do-list item before they moved on to their next institutional project.

I appreciate the budgetary constraints all hospitals face, especially ones, like this one, that are founded by the Salvation Army and funded by the provincial government. Those kettles should - and do - fund things we need rather than want, and governments have no business buying La-Z-Boy recliners for hospital waiting rooms. But, still, what I wouldn't give for a reasonably comfy place to park myself while we wait for the next nurse visit, doc consult, milestone in the dreary life of a patient who's stuck here for an indefinite period of time.

Sitting in these chairs as a visitor makes me appreciate the other places I usually sit - office chair, bike seat, car, wherever - so much more. I'm lucky to still have that ability, to not be on the wrong side of the health care curve. There are no guarantees, ever, in life. Some random disease might strike me tomorrow, and I might find myself right back in this place, except this time I won't be a visitor.

But to the extent that any of us can control our fate, can lead the kind of life that gives us the best possible chance of staying healthier, longer, these chairs remind me why that matters as much as it does. When I push my bike off from my driveway, whining the entire time about how early it is and how I'd much rather be lying in bed on an early-morning Netflix binge, I'll think of these chairs, and what I wouldn't do to ensure I never have to sit in them again.

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