Unconditional Love!

This is a story of true unconditional love- if your a sucker for romance, you might want to get your tissues ready!!
Most of you know that I used to work at an in-patient hospice unit until I started my new job about a year ago with home health and hospice. I still work at the in-patient hospice units on Saturday to help them out (yes, I know I work too much!)Well, today I was covering the in-patient hospice unit which is located at a facility which also has in-patient rehab, nursing home care, and dementia care. I was walking down the hallway today and I saw an elderly couple sitting across from the chapel, a couple that I see just about every weekend that I work. It was clear that the woman was a patient and the man was her husband. She was sitting in her wheelchair with her husband beside her, holding her hand while he sang to her.
As I passed them, the man looked up at me and smiled to say hello. I stopped and talked with them and he told me one of the most romantic stories. He shared that his wife was admitted to the end-stage dementia unit about four months ago after he was unable to care for her in their home. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Dementia about 6 years ago- he was her primary caregiver for about 5.5 years before he had to make the difficult decision to place her in a nursing home. The husband shared that he visits his wife every day and stays from 10am to 7pm when she goes to bed. They eat lunch and dinner together everyday. The husband shared that when his wife gets anxious or agitated (related to her disease) the only thing that is able to calm her down is his signing- the same thing that brought them together over 50 years ago. He shared that everyday around 2-3pm she usually gets a little anxious, so he takesvher out of the dementia unit to sing to her.
The way she looked at him when he sang to her was just magical. She is unable to remember her name, dress her self, feed herself, or even remember her children but her husband shared that when he walks onto the unit she gets a big smile on her face and she says "Hi Honey" just like she did everyday when he would return home from work.
Is this not the most romantic story you have ever heard.... simply magical and the true meaning of unconditional love. I couldn't help but tear up as he told me the story and how much he still loves his wife. His story sort of reminded me of "The Notebook" which gets me EVERY time!!!
I can only hope that Rusty and I have this same love in another 50 years!!! I learned a lot today from this special couple, I love my job!

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