A Love Story

This past week in clinical, I got to see a beautiful thing. Though it was through a sad circumstance, I found it amazing to watch.

Molly (name changed) was my assigned patient, an elderly women diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease needing total care. She stared at me in bewilderment, as I readied her for the day. She began to cry as she realized she was lost and couldn't remember why. Where had her life, her memory gone? She cried because she couldn't do the simple task of putting a shirt on by her self. It is a humiliating thing to lose the ability to take care of ones' self. I tried to distract her with cheery comments as I helped her to her chair for breakfast.
"My husband was a good man, but he's not here, and he left me in this place," Molly tells me, "but I wait. The man he's coming this morning to see me."
The nurses tell me Molly's husband comes in every morning, and sure enough at about ten o'clock an elderly man comes down the hall with a bag full of letters and a cat tucked under his arm... He introduces himself to me as James (name changed), Molly's husband, and willingly offers to have me come join him and his wife for the morning. He winks to me and say's "This is her therapy that I go over with her every day." He takes her to a quiet room, and sets the cat on the table. Now to tell you about this cat he has bought her: it's orange and white, with long and lush fur, and contently purrs and meows by battery.
Being near her husband, and the simple act of petting the fake animal seems to calm her. A huge change has come over this women who was lost and depressed just a few minutes ago. Now it seems that she has suddenly come alive.
He sings to her the songs they once sang to each other. He turns on the radio to the oldies station, takes her out to the middle of the floor, and they dance around and around in circles.
He'll then take her hand and guide her down the carpeted, generic halls of the nursing home for their morning walk.
He takes her to the dinning area to see the fake roses and irises. She smiles at the colors, not realizing they're dollar store fake flowers.
He sees that her back is in pain from walking so far, and so he sets her in a wheel chair. Back down the hall and back to the quiet room again, he pulls out cards and letters from old friends who have written an encouraging word to her. At last he pulls out a card that he himself had written to her on an anniversary years ago. She reads it aloud to him: "...If I had to live life over again I would do it with you, because you are my best friend. With love, James"
He implores her, "Who is that? Who wrote this card to you?" She smiles... "James." "And who is James?" he asks. "My husband," she tells him with spunk in her voice. "Then who is he?" he asks. She nudges him with her elbow, "Well you!" For a moment a smiles breaks his faces and he knows he has her for just that moment. Although she does not always recognize this man as her husband, she know this man has loved her, loves her now and always will love her.

I leave them for a while to go to lunch. As I come back, I see James' mind is weary. Keeping an up-beat attitude for his wife has drained his energy. They are holding hands as she finishes her lunch. He tells her, "Hon, I am going to go get my lunch and take a nap, but I'll be back at 3 o'clock." "Okay," she replies, and he kisses her. As he leaves her side, he doesn't tell me in words, but his eyes tell me, "Take care of her while I am gone. She's my life!" His shoulders sag just a little and his gait quickly carries him out to escape the surroundings of the nursing home. He is mentally fighting the fact that he is losing his companion. He will not give up a moment to spend with her; he knows each moment is a gift. He keeps fulfilling his vow: in sickness and in health 'til the last breath is breathed.

God has shown me more of Himself through this couple; it is an inspiration to see what love can do. I didn't want this to be a Valentine's Day story, but rather to show that God can write beautiful love stories through His people. He created Man and Woman together to show the world how powerful a family with God in it can be, to shine a light to the darkness.

As I think more about their story, James reminded me of Christ: every day coming to us, helping us to remember "Him."