The Cutest Patient Ever
I was really touched by Signout’s blog post about a charming octogenarian. It’s patients like these that make you glad to be a doctor… Signout writes:
I have a secret crush on one of my patients, an 85-year old man
who’s recovering from a bad pneumonia. After a weeklong stay in the
intensive care unit, he has recovered at a remarkable pace: the day
after he was extubated, he was out of bed with a physical therapist,
making his way slowly around the ward with a walker and a big smile.
What motivates him to work so hard at recovery, the
nurses say, is his love for his wife. They have been married 60 years.
She comes in to see him every day, wheeled around by their daughter.
The whole time she is there, they say, he holds her hand as if it is
the last time he will see her…
This man is the cutest patient ever… and the dear fellow reminds me of my husband (only a little bit older – the patient is older, not my husband – er, you see what I mean). One of my single friends asked me how I knew that Steve was the man I wanted to marry, I told them this:
“One day it suddenly occurred to me that if I had a traumatic brain injury or suffered from severe dementia and was totally incapacitated – Steve would faithfully care for me, never leave my side, and devote his entire life to my recovery or best quality of life. When I realized that he would do this for me without a second thought… I knew I had to marry him.”
Now, I’m not sure that Steve finds that image particularly romantic – but I do. It’s a doctor thing I guess.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
Awe! Thanks for warming our hearts, Val.