Stroke Anniversary, Valentines Day

Today I'm going to blog about two appropriate topics for this time of the year. The first is applicable to Will and I and immediate family and friends, the second to the masses. Will's stroke. This past week we hit our "two year anniversary" of the stroke. Will has mentioned to me that it isn't something he thinks we should celebrate but February 1st is a day we should remember. For me the jury is still out on whether or not we "celebrate" that day. It was the day that Will was almost lost. That I almost had to miss out on having him as a life-long companion. The realities of that day have echoed through our everyday life for the past two years- and I imagine they will for much longer. The pain and heartache of that day, however, have begun to fade. And our love and gratitude only grows brighter. Admittedly the "heartache" or in other words deficits left behind from Will's stroke still have us in a holding pattern, but the reality is that there is much more to life than just Will's profession and this makes the hardships easier to bear.

To keep with tradition in sharing Will's progress, I will tell you of an experience we had last year. One that illustrates "more emotional healing" rather than the later (physical healing). About a year ago Will went to bed and had a feeling/thought that it would be his last night on earth. That he would not wake in the morning. Even though I scold him for not having told me til morning of his aboding vision, I guess I am grateful -- for I don't think I would have slept a wink. I can't tell you how hard it was to feel as if Will was ticking bomb, and that any moment could be his last... the fear at times was paralyzing. The emotional healing has been that instead of fear we feel a hope and faith that was not there before. A surety that the relationship we've formed will last forever. That good things have and will come to us, no matter our difficulties. We stand united in a hope that Will is going to practice medicine, that his aliments will only be "for a moment" and that we will rise again to live the life we have both dreamed of. But if not-- we still have more than we ever would have had, if he not had not had the stroke.

OK-- so as to keep the second portion of this blog shorter-- I will refer you to a clip below, taken from our wedding video and I will give you the topic. Valentines Day. Will is the love of my life. One thing I didn't expect, in my cynical perception of matrimony, is that "marriage gets better." I have never been so excited as I am now to have him as my eternal companion. I hope you plan something special for the love of your life this year. Make sure you tell them how much they mean to you!