Hospital visit

Entrance to the UW Hospital

Today I visited one of my parishioners in the University of Washington Hospital in Seattle. He had surgery yesterday and today he's recovering nicely. He was patiently enduring the indignities of the hospital: IV lines, the ridiculous gown, circulation wraps on his legs, and nurses with their constant stream of pleasantly-phrased annoyances.

His wife was his constant companion -- she even slept in the hide-a-bed in the same room last night. I was impressed by her attentiveness to his needs. Whatever needed to be done, she was there to make sure it happened, whether it was something to drink, attention from a nurse, or phone calls to their family.

I said something about how much she was doing for him. She said, "It's a pleasure for me to do this."

I sensed a tremendous strength between the two of them. He was strong because she was there, and her inner strength and determination came from their common bond. They were truly going through this together.

It made me think of those words, "For better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish..." I think together they could go to the ends of the earth.
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