A Sense of Disproportionate Disbelief

 

Here I am at 76, the least successful (according to most standards and methodologies) of my brother and sister and more than likely the smartest based upon adolescent tests.

Neither my sister nor my brother has experienced what I have experienced:

1. time in the military
2. fired from employment
3. a triple bypass level heart attack
4. non-Hodgkins Lymphoma - 16 years ongoing
5. reoccurring Melanoma - 12 years ongoing
6. radiation treatments
7. chemo and immunotherapy treatments
8. IVIG infusions to boost immunity
9. torn rotator cuff tendons in both shoulders
10. five lower back disks fused

Under the following conditions:

• quit smoking for 36 years
• quit eating red meat for 36 years
• quit alcohol for 36 years
• have eaten fish, chicken, turkey, veggies, and beans for 36 years
• exercising 60 minutes a day for 36 years
• eating healthy for 36 years

CAVEAT:  I have had 1-2 glasses of wine a year every other year or so.  I have eaten steadily about 4 pizzas a year and maybe 1-2 cheeseburgers a year, and a hotdog on the 4th of July.

I have no desire for my brother and sister to go through what I have gone through, but I am wondering why ALL OF THIS happened to me and nothing to them and we had the same parents.

While I don't believe in religious punishment, I do wonder why I have been singled out, outside of luck of the draw or coincidence, because I don't think much of either concept.

This may not seem like much to you, and I am sure that my brother and sister have experienced medical issues that I have yet to experience, but they do not always share their medical conditions with me anymore.

BTW, my brother is younger, and my sister is older if that makes any difference at all.

There are reasonable explanations for all my illnesses, and I understand and accept those explanations, but that still leaves me wondering why some people encounter these situations and others do not.

My life experiences allow me to appreciate my life each day rather than wish I had a different life.  It is what it is, and I accept that.  I am mentally better off for it as well.