I saw an 88 year old guy in my office today. His wife ( let's call her Ann) always accompanied him. I used to see him and then Ann also got to be my patient. Ann was diagnosed with devastating Parkinson's disease and recently passed away under hospice care.
Ann in her old age was beautiful. Can't imagine how great she looked in her younger years. Vibrant and funny. Always graceful. It was sad to see her wither away.
After seeing Ann's husband I decided to talk to him about Ann. He had been sad and quiet. Then he perked up and started talking. He is from the midwest. At age 18, he took a train and travelled to wherever the news of a job took him. He ended up in NJ . He ran into Ann along with a group of her friends.
First he asked Ann for a date. She said " I have to look at my appointments." He ventured " you see Ann loved to play tennis and if you dated her, you had to play tennis with her and she was missing her appointment book".
That date never happened. Next time they crossed paths Ann asked him for a date. He already had a date. He said to her " I never cancel dates." He went on " she had her claws in me and the more I looked into her deep blue eyes, more I got hooked."
They had a date and later got married.
"You see the problem with Ann was that no one ever told her how good she was. She was a clerk in this company when we got married. Then we planned. I gave 3 choices, stay home or go to school or get divorced." He laughed joyously through the story. Ann chose school. She ended with a doctorate in Psychology. "I worked hard and for 30 years I supported her, then for the next 35 she supported me. We had many state and federal contracts. She ended up on the board of many institutions."
"We never fought after midnight. Whatever it was we would never carry it over to the next day."
He talked on and I felt like I was getting life advice from a grandparent. He went on for 30 mins. I was late for my other work but it was worth it. He departed happy. Ann had been a blessing in both our lives even in her absence.
