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.
16 comments:
Aww... that actually had me in tears! That is by far one of the sweetest things I have ever heard. It's the very definition of true love and devotion. :)
Awwwwwwww.
Makes me feel like a bad person cuz' I would never do that. Self centered person I am.
Superb, its the best definition of love I have ever heard. Plainly stated. Well
It's a real life version of Nicholas Sparks' book, "The Notebook". (also made into a movie in '04)
Thank you for taking the time to put the 'care' back into patient care, you were obviously blessed for doing so.
Beautiful. Just Beautiful.
Loved the story, and my mother just passed away a year ago this April of Alzheimers too. And I wish I could of been there everyday too, but distance didn't give us a chance until the last 2 years of her life, but she still knew us at times, esp my husband and son, which always brought a tear to my eye. Thanks for sharing.
A true definition of love and devotion...something lots of us know nothing about.
Absolutely beautiful....thank you so much.
That was very beautiful. The truth is that we are our memories. Once we stop having them, we are no longer ourselves. Therefore, in this situation, the man just needed to let go. There was no point in doing what he was doing. Still it brought a tear to my eye to read. Love is very beautiful, regardless if its only an illusion caused by chemical reactions in the brain. ;(
That was very beautiful. The truth is that we are our memories. Once we stop having them, we are no longer ourselves. Therefore, in this situation, the man just needed to let go. There was no point in doing what he was doing. Still it brought a tear to my eye to read. Love is very beautiful, regardless if its only an illusion caused by chemical reactions in the brain. ;(
carlosc1dbz
The beauty of true Love in its full form. I applaud this author for putting this out there.
Good story, but definitely not true. I've been in health care for a long time and not once have I ever seen a doctor take someones vital signs.
This is really sweet... If you like that story you'll love the movie 'the notebook' its awesome!
"The Notebook" is overrated. And while this is a touching story, I'd hardly call it the definition of "true love." If anything this is someone trapped in a repeating cycle without much meaning and, agreeing with Carlos here, there wasn't much point to it.
I would not want my once-loved one to visit me every day if I didn't know him. I had the feeling that the man did this for himself, not for her. It meant more to him than to her, so...
Loyalty--one of the rarest things in the world. Most of us can only dream of finding that kind of devotion someday.
Yes no need to take vital signs to have stiches out. The whole things is untrue.
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