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You have no idea just how close you are.

On today's episode of Grey's Anatomy, a surgeon participated in physician-assisted suicide. The patient was terminally ill. She was going to die; it was only a matter of time. But she was in so much pain, and she wanted to be put out of her misery.

If you asked me, omor, beautiful choice oo, but another surgeon, Owen Hunt, who had previously served in the military, was totally against it. He tried to stop the procedure and convince both the patient and the surgeon attending to her not to go through with it.

Initially, I was pissed at him. I was like, "Bro, leave the woman to die na. At least that's one decision that's up to her." Kinda shii.

But it wasn't until the episode was drawing to an end that I began to understand where he was coming from.

While serving in the military, Owen had lost a friend. They had survived an explosion, but his friend was severely injured while Owen was relatively unharmed. He tried everything he could to keep the man alive, but they had no medical supplies, and they were in the middle of nowhere with no immediate hope of getting help.

His friend was in so much pain that he begged Owen to let him go. He wanted Owen to take his hands off the wound because, in his mind, there was nothing more Owen could do.

Owen refused. He kept trying to stop the bleeding, holding on to the hope that somehow, his friend would survive. But hours passed, it had been noon when the incident happened, and night had fallen. If a rescue team was coming, it probably wouldn't arrive until the next morning.

Eventually, Owen took his hands off the wound, and his friend died.

Then, just minutes later, a rescue helicopter found them.

It's such a sad story. A very, very sad one, because there Owen was, left to wonder if his friend would still be alive had he held on for just a few more minutes. What if help had arrived before he gave up? What if those few minutes had made all the difference?

But then again, there was no way for him to know. He didn't expect a rescue team to arrive that night, but it did. Just minutes too late.

And suddenly, I understood why Owen was so opposed to the woman ending her life. What if something changed? What if a new treatment became available? What if a breakthrough happened the very next day? What if there was still a possibility, however small, that things could turn around?

Owen had experienced what it meant to give up hope, only for help to arrive moments later. And perhaps, in trying to save that woman, he was also trying to make peace with the memory of the friend he couldn't save.

Dearest reader, we go about our lives every day with absolutely no idea how far we've come or how close we are to our miracles, our breakthroughs, or the answers we've been praying for.

And that's one of the reasons we must learn not to give up on ourselves too quickly. We can take breaks, we can rest, we can cry, complain, and admit that something hurts. We don't have to pretend to be strong every second of every day. But even when life gets unbearably difficult, I hope we find the strength to hold on a little longer.

Because imagine giving up at this very moment, only for a solution to present itself in the next second. Imagine walking away from something you've prayed for, worked towards, and hoped for, unaware that the answer was closer than you could have imagined.

Of course, life doesn't always turn around the way we want it to. Sometimes, help comes too late. Sometimes, we hold on and things still don't work out. And I won't insult your intelligence by pretending otherwise, but the fact that things can change, that tomorrow can look nothing like today, is one of the ridiculously beautiful things about being alive.

One moment, you're at your lowest, wondering how anything could possibly get better, and the next, you're testifying, "What God cannot do doesn't exist!"

Gbam! Same person, different chapter.

You never really know what the next moment holds. You don't know how close you are to the phone call, the opportunity, the answer, the healing, or the little thing that could change everything for you.

So, hang in there, biko. Give yourself room to breathe, but don't be so quick to conclude that this is how your story must end.

Sometimes, things really can turn around in the most unexpected ways.

And who knows? Maybe you're closer than you think.

@favvy_Okwans🖤.