Talk Is Sheep

Hello loyal reader. I’m sorry it’s been over a week. I usually try to add my thoughts to this blog thing at least once a week, but last week I ran into a bit of a snag.

Doctors like to call the snag I ran into appendicitis. It’s not a particularly fun snag, but for me it had it’s perks. Among the perks was the adventure of going to the emergency room for the first time, having my abdominal cavity opened for the first time, purposefully removing an organ for the first time, and sleeping over at a hospital for the first time (oh and great, funny stories to boot). Lot’s of firsts, all of which happened a couple of days before Sarah and I celebrated being married for 9 months. So it was kind of a bunch of firsts for both of us. And despite the fact that a trip to the hospital is never a good thing, I honestly enjoyed my time there and I learned a lot about Sarah’s love for me. That’s always a good thing.

To say that Sarah has a tender heart is an overstatement understatement – I’m not sure how else to put it. I’ve known about this condition of hers since we met. At times her tender heart shows itself as she is prone to crying over almost everything. But last week she gave me a glimpse into the depths of her heart for me as I was laying in the emergency room.

She was concerned for me, she took care of me and she kept me company. Looking back over the days at the hospital, I decided I could sum up her actions by saying she was lovingly gracious. We all have expectations on people. As Sarah’s husband I am sometimes expected to maintain interesting conversation, pay attention, be thoughtful & proactive, show her love and a whole list of other things. This is normal and sometimes can be just as helpful as it can be annoying. But Sarah’s graciousness while I was sick was unlike anything I think I’ve ever felt before. She was able to (even before we went to the hospital) throw out any expectations of my behaviour and simply was present to help me out with anything I needed, and help me in ways I didn’t know I needed help.

After having been under the knife and surviving, I have sometimes thought that 100 yrs or even 50 yrs ago, Sarah would have been a widow. It’s a very sobering thought. But I’m filled with joy that I got to experience a new depth of Sarah’s love for me because of it.

Tags: Appendicitis, Emergency department, Emergency Medicine, Facilities, Health, Hospital, Medical Specialties, Medicine

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 1800 and is filed under Things We Do, Things We Think. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.