[always2late]

Originally Posted by princessbelle

Wow this is an great thread and these stories have definitely touched me as i know they have others.

I have one that stands out for me and i would like to share.

In Hospice, i see a lot of devotion. When one partner passes, the pain the other one goes through sometimes it is really hard to take and i have broken down and cried for them more times than i could tell you.

But, this one couple will always be, to me, a beacon for devotion and love. She had cancer. They had been married for over 60 years. She had been so very sick for over a year and he never left her side. He was up with her day and night for her every need. He called me in the middle of the night one night and said he thought it was getting close. When i got there, the air was sweet. He had candles lit and there was soft music playing. She was barely breathing and he held her hands and kissed her softly over and over and told her it was ok for her to let go.

She did as he said, and passed. I had walked out of the room to call the funeral home and when i came back into the room he was getting into the bed with her. I asked him if he was ok, it startled me a little bit.

He said "I've slept with this beautiful woman every night for over 60 years, tonight is no exception. I will hold her in our bed until they come and take her away from me".

To this day, when i think about them, the first thing i think of is...how lucky they were to have a love like that. It was beyond beautiful. He definitely had true devotion to that love and it was just breathtaking.

I think we are lucky in our profession Belle...we see people at their worst, but we also see the best, the incredible acts of kindness, the love and devotion that some people share. There are days when I count myself as very lucky to have seen some of the things that I have seen.