Ahhh...a day off!
These last two days have been really busy, however I had two patients that stick out in my mind. Both had been married for over 50 years, and so both I asked 'What Their Secret to Marriage was.' The first patient, Frederick, initally said 'oh give and take, compromise.' Then, about 30 seconds later, he sheepishly grinned at me and said, well, if you don't mind me being a little more personal, I'll tell you what our REAL secret is. My little ears perked up: 'oh no... I don't mind you being personal at all!' His secret, after 55 years of marriage was that he could count on one hand the number of times he had seen his wife completely nude! He felt that she was responsible for keeping the mystique going in their relationship, because even after 55 years, he was still excited and hopeful that maybe this time he'd get to see more! I LOVED his story, it made my day.
The second patient, Dorothy also had good advice: always work hard towards helping each other grow, and you'll grow together.
In this day and age, its not often that you come across a couple who have been together so long. I think it's heart-warming. Both of these patients' first concern when they woke up from their anaestetic was 'when can I see my wife/husband?' I like that, and hope that I too, will have that experience when I'm an old lady.
Of course, by then I'll be in my 90's!