The Human Elixir

I am listening to the radio, feeling melancholy tonight because of the death of my Labrador retriever Lucky. Celine Dion’s song My Heart Will Go On began playing, evoking a memory that will remain forever poignant in my heart.

My wife Anne was within a few months of death in her battle with cancer when old friends, Sammy and Stephanie, dropped by unexpectedly. They asked us to go to the movies with them. Barrett, one of Anne’s fellow law students at OCU, was visiting for the weekend, also helping to lift her spirits. Anne pulled herself out of the bed and that night, we saw the movie Titanic.

Titanic is an awesome movie, but it is long, Anne very weak, on oxygen and in a wheelchair at the time. I didn’t know how close to death she was, but perhaps she did. She cried during the last scene, not for herself but because of the powerful emotion that the movie evoked.

The movie and the visit from Stephanie, Sammy and Barrett lifted Anne’s spirits and added quality months to her life. Of this, I am convinced. After receiving a wonderfully supportive email from my Aunt Dot tonight concerning my big pup Lucky, I am now positive that interaction with caring human beings is an elixir stronger than any medicine your doctor can ever prescribe.

Gondwana