And YOU are?

This has been an interesting passage.

The somewhat unique circumstances of Master and T having their bariatric surgeries on the same day turned them into hospital celebrities. It seems that almost everyone around this place has heard the story of the couple who had their surgeries together. Especially on this floor, the medical staff all know about it, and they know that T went home and that Master had to come back in. They all believe that is the story: Husband in the hospital with post-surgical complications, and wife at home recovering from her own surgery. And, of course, we talk about her as "wife," and tell the story, and make it clear that there is a very real and very good and very loving marriage between the two of them.

And then there is me. I am here. Staying over night, leaving to go to school during the day, but back again each afternoon. There is no hiding the intimacy of our relatedness. It shows.

It is always intriguing to watch healthcare professionals as the confront our reality. Many, even most, simply choose to not acknowledge it. It really does seem that for the most part they believe that it isn't something that they need to know about, and so they simply look past it.

Every now and then, however, we run into someone who looks at it and gets curious and just cannot let it go. This morning, THAT person showed up. One of our roving gang of medical residents came into be part of the group that looks over the belly wounds and changes the dressings. He was particularly brash and arrogant seeming; a young person with more than just a little self-confidence. The rest of the crowd came in, said, "hi," and went on about their business, but this fellow looked at me, and looked at me, and looked at me again. Finally, he just got to it and asked the question, "Who are you? How are you related?"

Sometimes, when I get into that position with someone, I am gentle and try to finesse the situtation, but this morning, I just wasn't into making anyone's life easier. So, I looked right at him and said, "I am the other wife." That is an answer that tends to get people's attention, and he did sort of gasp and react visibly. Then he recovered himself and said to Master, "Wow! That's pretty cool! You'll have to tell me how You do that!"

And with that, I blew Master a kiss, left the resident gaggle to their work, and headed off to school.

swan