"two percent milk"

As I walked into his room, I heard his loud voice accusing the nurse that she wanted to kill him. He continued, the nurse did not care about his health and how serious it was to keep his cholesterol down to keep his heart healthy. He was upset about finding whole milk instead of 2% Milk on his breakfast tray.

I thought he was right so I told him. But I also told him that to be right one doesn't have to be impolite and loud. He agreed and the nurse smiled.

He was admitted with endocarditis affecting a  young heart abused by intravenous recreational drugs. There was a long history of self experimentations, denials, and justifications. There were life trials and legal judgments and the ultimate damage to the earthly body with a weak heart. He wanted to survive, and  I saw his struggle to hold on; he was trying to be alive by doing the right thing. Two percent milk was his water of life at the moment.

To some, a healthy lifestyle is not a choice but the order of the day. Their life may seem dry to those who judge them, those who use and abuse their bodies. To some, extra cheese pizza with a diet soda keeps all stakeholders happy. The journey of a man from a dependency on intravenous drugs to fighting for two percent milk may have its own tale: fear, regret, anger, hope.