When I went into hospital almost a month ago, my then boyfriend did not leave my side. He had planned to propose on the day I went in, and I now know that he had sat in there for one and a half days with the ring in a box in his pocket. I was being pumped with a drip at the time, and everytime it would go into my veins I’d sook like a baby and bemoan my predicament. Other times, I would sulk about being there, about all the things I had to do, about how crappy the food tasted and how I just wanted to come home and have a shower.

When I came out of hospital three weeks ago, he went home, bought loads of pumpkin, sweet potato and the like, and froze me batches of immunity-boosting soup to get me going strong again. Through out most of the times in this relationship, I was the centre of attention. The spotlight was always on me and what I wanted or needed. He always came second to me and my needs – even though it was he who worked 15 hours in a row on some days, and put his life on the line everytime he got into his uniform.

It’s taken me the time I got out of hospital to realise he had no food while I was there, and that he was probably bored, and he didn’t get to go home and shower when he felt like it, and that he was practically my slave. And then on top of that, he went ahead and slaved in the kitchen to help me get the nutrients I needed in a manner befitting my tastebuds and lifestyle.

When I walk down the aisle in exactly 383 days time, I know I will be the luckiest girl in the world. He supported me when I was being unglamorously wheeled down hospital corridors, when I walked back into academia, when I decided I wanted to waltz down the difficult wordsmith path. And because of the likes of him, I am inspired to be a better person everyday — firstly by taking out the time to myself with a good book and some made-with-love soup in order to strengthen myself physically, mentally and emotionally; and also by learning to go that extra mile in a manner so humble it’d take the person receving your good works three weeks to realise what you have done.

And personally, I don’t think there’s any better remedy for whatever ailment you’ve got. Being a great person goes a heck of a long way — for better or worse, and in sickness and health. Do that all the days of your life, and you shall know peace, calm and serenity.

 

Tags: fiance, hospital, life, lucky, sick, wedding