Today is a sad day for me. One of my reviewers, Paul Lane, lost his wife and the funeral is this morning.
I’ve known Paul at least ten years and we worked together for most of those. When he retired from the library, which was his second career, his “retirement” job, he started writing reviews for me.
In all the years I’ve known him, the one thing that was constant was his love for his wife. Anita was a beautiful woman, and Paul was head over heels about her. I don’t know how long they were married, but I would guesstimate over 40 years, and to be that much in love after so long really says a lot, about him and their marriage. Note: Just learned they were married 53 years!
Yesterday, one of my favorite library patrons came in. Eleanor lost her husband a few months ago. They were married over 60 years and she is just devastated. He was her best friend and she misses him terribly. It’s all she talks about now. She gets no pleasure from life anymore because she can’t share it with him.
All that has had me thinking. Today is an anniversary of sorts for me. Ten years ago today my husband had a heart attack, which saved his life.
Ten years this morning he woke me at 5:30 and said he felt funny, something was wrong. He had some achiness in his right shoulder, not the left, and his jaw felt achy too, enough that it woke him. He went online and searched until he found something that said it could be signs of a heart attack.
The EKG they did in the emergency room did not indicate a heart attack, but was odd – they said it looked like an EKG someone would have after taking a stress test.
It turned out to be a very minor heart attack, so minor that they had to wait 24 hours for his blood work to come back to determine that there had been damage, albeit “just a few cells.” But that prompted an angioplasty, which the doctor felt would indicate he needed a stent. A short while later, we found out he needed a bit more than a stent. He underwent a quadruple bypass at age 48.
The surgeon called him his “pediatric” patient. The cardiac ICU nurse assured me that we were incredibly lucky; most heart attacks in men in their 40’s are fatal. We were also lucky to have one of the best heart hospitals in the country, Delray Medical Center, nearby.
My husband is still here, half way to the 20 years they “guaranteed” his bypass surgery. Last weekend he went on a 30 mile hike through the Everglades. He walks almost every day and tries to eat right when I’m not cooking food that not’s good for him (or me!)
We’ve been married for 32 years. He’s been my best friend all these years and I can’t imagine a life without him. He’s put up with a lot over the years – from me, my family, his family, even our kids now and then. So when Eleanor complains she gets no joy from life anymore, I understand. And I know that Paul will be feeling that way too, at least for a while.
It’s a good day to reflect.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 