A Private Moment

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

"Pooh!" he whispered.

"Yes Piglet?"

"Nothing" said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw.

"I just wanted to be sure of you."

Winnie the Pooh

Let me preface this entry by saying that my husband's health is in excellent condition. We had quite the scare this weekend when he was taken to the Emergency Department. He experienced severe chest pain while at work. Thankfully, he was surrounded by medical professionals during the incident and received immediate medical attention. After running some tests to rule out potential cardio and pulmonary problems, as well as a long observation stay, he was discharged with the diagnosis of possible muscle strain.

I stayed by my husband's side for eight hours and during this ordeal, I held his hand, kissed his brow, gave him water to drink, watched him sleep, laid my head on his chest, and watched the waves of his heart muscle go by on the EKG machine. We both knew that he would be fine, even the physicians who took care of him thought so; the tests and observation were merely standard medical protocols for his symptom. So it was not really his medical state that we both pondered about during this time. There was a moment where he opened his eyes and asked me, "Will you stay with me like this when we grow old?" To which I replied, "What a silly question! Of course!" Now that I think of it, it really wasn't such a silly question after all. When we are at our most vulnerable state, being reassured that our other half will always be there makes a world of difference. So as I watched the waves go by, I thought to myself that's my heart on the monitor. At that moment, I too felt reassured because I knew we were halves of a whole person, my husband and I; and the world will be just fine. Thank God for marriage.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Genesis 2:24

I would like to acknowledge Patrick's colleague and friend, Leo who truly went above and beyond for us that night. As a charge nurse during that shift, he managed to go back and forth from the two units to look after Patrick while taking care of the rest of the crew. He stayed late with us knowing that he would only have but a few hours of sleep before taking on another busy shift the following early morning. This verse reminded me of Leo... James 2:18 But someone will say, " 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.