Goodness

As I sat in my chair to receive morning report on my patients I witnessed something beautiful.Who would have thought that bleary-eyed from the previous days 12 hr shift that I would be alert enough to even notice. It was the beginning of a truly lovely display of human nature at its finest, that for some reason I was priveledged to be a part of. I would like to share the unfolding of the friendship of two men both diagnosed with cancer .They shared their disease and a hospital room.Robert a simple man  treated poorly by his family lacking finances and the knowledge to empower himself suffered abuse from those he should have been able to trust.Now he lay in a bed unable to walk as a result of his disease.Harold  a man who had a decent job, a good family and a zest for life was Robert's roomate.As with a lot of hard-working men in their seventies they were both early risers which was a trait that even a hospital admission or cancer couldn't change. From my report chair I saw Harold clean-shaven and already washed up for the day carrying a basin of water to Robert's bedside so He too could start his morning routine of getting freshened up. The nurse in me wanted to jump up and tell Harold that this was not his job and that the nurses would be in soon to do their job. He should settle down and relax after all Harold had cancer too and it was my job to look after both of them. The nurse in me calmed down and another voice in my soul convinced me to let it be. Let it be as it should be. Allow Harold to serve Robert and in hind-sight ,allow Harold to love Robert who so desperately needed love. As the days passed the friendship grew.A friendship born because one man had love to give and another needed to be loved.Simple but amazing since in my experience men generally have a more challenging time feeling comfortable in these roles. Cancer began to raise it's ugliness in Harold's body and robbed him of his ability to express love in the way he was accustomed to.He now was bed-ridden and unable to communicate. He was moved to a private room for the family's privacy and to facilitate those difficult days and moments that precede death. Robert's disease began to slow down with treatment and He was doing better and able to be up in a wheelchair .I am sure that Harold's caring contributed to Robert's improvements in health status. In my busyness I noticed their friendship, I  loved the goodness of it , but in my 23 yrs of practice I have been a bystander to many wonderful and beautiful things.Even so I was totally unprepared for what I would see next. Going about my business a few weeks after my initial witnessing of the bath water episode I quickly walked into Harold's room to do a "beginning of the shift check" and I as I stood in his doorway I saw the most beautiful site ever. Sitting beside Harolds' bed was one person in his wheelchair. Up as close as He could be,holding Harold's hand with both of his hands while resting his head upon Harold's shoulder.This was not a quick gesture but a pose that that they had been in for sometime. I stood for about one minute not saying a word only watching and absorbing goodness and love.