over and over

did you ever see that movie "50 first dates?" i think i saw it; i don't remember much about it - perhaps my memory is fading too. but it's about a girl with NO short term memory. she keeps asking her partner the same questions over and over; she doesn't remember who he is or that they were ever together - that she ever loved him.

today, i am taking care of this very sick 71 year old lady who is near death. her husband won't acknowledge it, and she doesn't remember us telling her. but for some reason, she too has short term memory loss. and it's actually been quite pleasant - for me.

i've been in her room at least a dozen times today and she re-introduces herself each time - calls me darling, asks how i am doing. she tells me when i tell her how brave she is and how amazing it is that she is so kind, appreciative, and positive despite her pain and sickly state that "i am 71 years old and have no choice but to be happy and positive."

working with M has been so beautiful! i have had the pleasure of hearing hers and her husband's love story over and over. on august 4th, they will have been married for 54 years - since she was 17 and he was 21. for her husband, i bet her loss of memory is painful. how do 54 years disappear? how do you forget details about the love of your life?

tomorrow, at 2 pm, i will be transferring this dear woman from UW hospital to a hospital closer to her home. she will be taken away in an ambulance with husband at her side. and hopefully, if she is lucky, she will forget all the pain seattle, seattle cancer center, UW, and transplant have brought her.