A friend of mine and her family have been dealing with a health scare. Her mother-in-law had some obstruction in her colon or stomach. I know a much more detailed explanation but I'll leave it at that. This condition, life threatening, required surgery on an 86-year old (or so) woman. Did I mention that she also has a heart condition?
The good news is that she survived the surgery and is now actually thriving again. No one -- even the doctors -- expected this. The bad news is she doesn't remember a lot of the past few weeks. Her family has put endless miles on the cars to visit, consult with the doctors, hold her hand, take care of her dog, take care of her finances, etc. One of her grandchildren calls from Florida every day and asks, "Who visited today?" The answer is always, "No one."
I should be more sympathetic. Instead, I want to put on my t-shirt that says, "Been there; done that."
When we rescued the oldies two years ago, he had just come out of hip surgery and she was going through chemo. Hangdog went immediately to the Ortho rehab hospital. The husband visited twice a day, plus shopped for sweatsuits and other necessities. I visited. The baby visited. I took the mother-in-law to visit and wheeled her around because she was weak. He told us the other day that he was so lonely during that time because no one visited.
Other days, he doesn't remember all of the times he's been in the hospital since they've lived with us.
There's a reason they're good together. He remembers nothing. Her memory is frighteningly sharp.
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