ANYWHO! I was working last night, just like I work every Wednesday night. I was at customer service, helping the sweet, angelic Claudette. I call her, "Love," because she just exemplifies love. She looks like a porcelain doll and she is just so sincere and so kind. I had asked her a couple of weeks ago if she had any kids. I figured she was married. She said that she didn't have kids, but did have a dog and that counted in her mind. :)
Last night as we were working, she mentioned that "after her husband died..." I stopped the conversation because I was exasperated. She is the same age as me, if not younger. I said, "Love! I had no idea." She just kept right on talking. She mentioned that it is hard, but it's been five years and she sure wishes her dog would sleep with her to comfort her and how her other dogs used to be then they died... I was just in shock. I asked her if it was expected. She responded that it wasn't and then said, "This is what happened..." I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she proceeded to tell me the story of what happened. Her eyes are so stunning against her ivory skin and her arms just kept busy as she recounted those last days:
Her husband, who only ever called her "Babe," had a sinus infection. He got those a lot. They went to the doctor on a Thursday and got some antibiotics. On Friday, his ears were hurting really bad, so they went to the ENT. The ENT did a CAT scan, and several other tests and didn't see anything. He prescribed a different antibiotic, along with some pain medication. The pain medication made him very sick and he was throwing up. On Saturday, he slept most of the day, just not feeling well. Saturday night, he wasn't better so she took him to Insta Care. They just confirmed that he had a bad sinus infection and that he just needed rest. On Sunday, he was very lethargic and wasn't talking. She went in and laid next to him and asked him he wasn't talking to her because he was mad at her or if he wasn't talking to her because he couldn't. He could only mouth, "can't." At that point, she called 911 and his brother and father. He then went into convulsions. When he arrived at the hospital, they put him in a medically induced coma. On Sunday night, he went into brain surgery. He came out brain dead. He had an infection. At some point, a canal in his ear popped and the infection spread to his brain. There was nothing they could have done for him. Her husband was gone.
She said, "We were married for 17 years. He's been gone for five. He took good care of me and made sure he had life insurance so I wouldn't have to work. I don't think I'll ever date again because he was perfect. No one could ever live up to what he left for me in love."
How beautiful is that? Here I sit on the opposite spectrum of that, having a husband who left me but who left nothing for anyone to live up to. However, I have boys who tell me every single day, "You're doing great Mom. We love you Mom."
Two daughters of God. Pain. Sadness. Confusion. Frustration. Fear. JOY. COMFORT. RESILIENCE. STRENGTH. COURAGE. SMILES. LAUGHTER. LIVING. BREATHING. DOING.
Oh, what a life we live.
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