It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am,
when an elderly gentleman in
his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed
from his thumb. He stated that he
was in a hurry as he had an appointment at
9:00 am.
I took his vital signs and had him take a
seat,knowing it would be over an
hour before someone would to able to see him.
I saw him looking at his watch
and decided, since I was not busy with another
patient, I would evaluate his wound.
On exam it was well healed,
so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies
to remove his sutures and
redress his wound. While taking
care of his wound, we began to engage in
conversation I asked him if he had
a doctor's appointment this morning, as he was
in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no,
that he needed to go to the nursing home to
eat breakfast with his wife.
I then inquired as to her health. He told me
that she had been there
for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer
Disease. As we talked,and I
finished dressing his wound, I asked if she
would be worried if he was
a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who
he was, that she had not
recognized him in five years now.
I was surprised, and asked him. "And you still
go every morning,even though
she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled as he
patted my hand and said.
"She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."
I had to hold back tears as he left, I had
goose bumps on my arm,
and thought,
"That is the kind of love I want in my life."
True love is neither physical,
nor romantic.
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has
been, will be, and will not be.
With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there are some
that come along that have an important
message, and this is one of those
kind. Just had to share it with you all.
|
