Sometimes one has to accept and love ..unconditionally
Got this via a forward awhile ago. Puts across the dilemmas many of us face very well so thought of sharing…
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It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said 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, 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 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.
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. And Life isn’t always about how to survive the storm, sometimes one has to dance in the rain too.
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Sometimes, one just has to accept and do the best with what is. As we see loved ones sick and worsening – people we looked upto with respect and those who gave us so much- it is extremely distressing to see them in situations even doctors can’t comprehend fully. In such times, all one can do is accept. And realize that each of us is on our own journey. There is no way I can even begin to appreciate the pain and anguish of a troubled loved one , more so when the troubles originate from a mind deteriorating slowly. All I can do is to still love them even when that love is not even being acknowledged – perhaps ridiculed besides. And fall back on memories of good times, even when they seem to have forgotten them, and pray…..