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Sunday, April 19, 2009

My patient

I learned a lot today from my patient. He is an above the knee amputee, and has lost several fingers to gangrene due to severe PVD, and to top it off has diabetes. The first day I met him, he was very cranky and wanted nothing to do with a nursing student caring for him. By the end of today we were buds and I was sad to be leaving. I just loved his personality and his love for life, but what was more striking about him was the love for his wife. He had explained to me that he had been previously married for 33 years but his wife passed away. He has currently been married to a new wife for 13 years. He explained to me how wonderful both of these woman were. He didn't want to compare them but said they were both the most generous, caring individuals that he had ever met.

*******TEARS*********

His wife is amazing! She took care of him as if she were the nurse. She did everything for him. Everything. She smiled the whole time. Her heart was with him entirely, it was amazing to see this couple so in love. She was by his side the entire time he was there. He even told me that his current wife buys flowers and together they take them to his past wife's grave. I told you she was amazing!

She is the kind of wife I want to be. The kind of wife I will be.

2 comments:

brandi said...

thats awesome, isn't it. Mark might be a pain in my butt and we by far do not have a great marriage but I know I would be there for him if he needed it and can only pray he would do the same!

Maria said...

That is inspirational. How sweet that his wife was so attentive and caring. It's amazing the people that come into your life... they teach us things... that change us.

I think you are that kind of wife already Tab. You are that caring and wonderful. You are the most thoughtful wife I know! :)