It was a busy morning at our clinic, 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 another 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 this, 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 almost five years.
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’s the best kind of love to have in your 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.
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 is not about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.’
Submitted by Tim Connor