It was mostly a routine workday for me. On this particular day, I happened to be working in a lab at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD. There are a lot of remarkable things that go on in this world renown medical institution. While I'm not directly involved in the actual magic, I do have a small supporting role in keeping the gears turning.
During the course of my troubleshooting duties on this day, I found that I needed to retrieve an item from my car. As I made my way through the hospital, I found myself behind an elderly couple. With her head covered in a colorful bandana, the woman looked quite frail. The man looked quite weak himself but was clearly the stronger of the two. He held the woman's hand as he slowly guided her down the hallway. While I had plenty of work waiting for me back in the lab, I was in no hurry to get around them. I was mesmerized by the beauty and sadness of what was in front of me.
I assumed that the woman was going through some type of cancer treatment. I have seen how these treatments can knock down much younger people. So, to see this little old lady going through it was especially heartbreaking.
The old man gently patted his wife's back as a token of encouragement. And while no words were exchanged between the two, you could sense that the man was saying, "Don't worry, it's going to be alright. I am here with you."
Fror a brief moment, they stopped walking. They simply looked at one another and smiled. And then they resumed their journey. You could tell that the couple had been together for a long time. And you could actually feel the love between them.
I had only been "introduced" to them a few seconds ago, but I felt like I now knew them.
At their age, it was quite obvious that their days together were running out. And I couldn't help but imagine the pain of the inevitable loss for the surviving spouse. But for the moment, they were cherishing their time together. As long as they had each other, nothing else really mattered....
As the couple finally made their way into oncology department, the image made a lasting imprint in my mind. I felt the urge to walk up and give them both a big hug. But I just watched as the man held the door and his wife slowly made her way into the room. The man followed behind her. And just like that, they disappeared.
I fought back tears all the way to the parking garage. I'll likely never see this couple again, but I will never forget them. They touched me and gave me a reality check that I desperately needed.
While we all get sidetracked with trivial things in life, we often take for granted the really simple things that are most important. And sometimes, we have to see it with our own eyes...
kw
