savedbythatsoutherncharm:

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80′s arrived at the hospital to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. The nurse took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’

What if you wished so hard to forget the one you love, that in return you get Alzheimer’s on a time where you wanted to remember things most. I love old people. Maybe because when you look at your grandparents, you see that they’ve been together for decades and are still madly, deeply in love. (For me, it’s my parents.) Nowadays, it’s more common to have marriages last less than a year. On top of deep affection, they have honest appreciation, caring, and most of all the utmost respect for their love and the significant other. That love’s even stronger even when there’s little to no hope that the other remembers them. Can you imagine? I feel very nostalgic to that feeling. Or probably, jealous. Must I wait til I’m 80, and suffer from Alzheimer’s to feel that way? There’s a high percentage that, exactly that, will happen to me, because I’ve been told I’m unlucky with love. And just when I get lucky, I’ll probably forget everything. 

(via karaboubum)