The stories and experiences shared here reflect my personal journey. Names and some details have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy. These posts are meant to highlight my own insights and growth, not to identify others.
Jean. 7/2021.
Jean is one of my knee replacement patients. She’s a widow living alone in a big house with her two little fluffy dogs: Riley, a 14-year-old Maltese, and Casey. We were talking about how tough it is to put down pets when they get old.
She shared a story about a dog she had years ago that needed to be put down while her husband was traveling. Coming home afterward, she was feeling overwhelmed, thinking about how empty the house would be without the dog. As she pulled into the garage, she accidentally hit the accelerator and crashed into the house. She called her husband, crying, and he asked where she was. Through her tears, she said, “In the garage… and in the dining room.”
I asked her how he reacted, expecting anger, but she told me he took her on a spa vacation while the house was being repaired. Her friends said he treated her like a princess. She spoke about him with so much love, and I couldn’t help but ask what had happened to him.
Jean told me that a few years later, he developed a brain tumor. Doctors gave him only a few months, but he managed to live for two more years, passing away the day after Christmas. Today, we talked more about those years, and she described how hard it was watching him decline. He’d been so smart, loving, and a wonderful husband, and being his caregiver took a lot out of her.
It was heart-wrenching to go from hearing about this incredible man who stayed calm when she crashed into the house to mourning with her about his illness and passing. Jean is an incredibly sweet woman. At 68, she’s still working as the program director for an after-school program at the elementary school around the corner. They’re lucky to have her.