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This one brings tears to your eyes.
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 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 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'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 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.
Oh, by the way, peace
is seeing a sunset and knowing who to thank.
The happiest people don't
necessarily have the best of everything; they
just make the best of
everything they have. (Amen to that!)
Please share this with someone you
care about.
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