True Love
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an
elderly gentleman in his 80′s, arrived to have
stitches removed from his thumb.
He said 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, I asked him
if he had another 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 inquired as to her health. He told me that
she had been there for a while and that she was a
victim of Alzheimer’s Disease.
As we talked, I asked if she would be upset 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 is in e-mails,
sometimes there is one that comes along that has
an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best
of everything; they just make the best of everything
they have.
I hope you share this with someone you care about.
I just did.
"Life isn’t about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."
~unknown~
