Hello Dr. Laura,
Tomorrow will be six months since my husband had an acute stroke in his sleep. He now is in hospice at the Veterans' Care Center. My husband is a disabled veteran, a good family man, a good neighbor, and a provider. We met in 1976 and married in 1978. My husband suffered severe PTSD and complete hearing loss after serving as a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam. We were not blessed with children. The PTSD caused us to divorce... But, we remarried after twenty years. (I went on to earn a doctorate and to devote my life to teaching. My husband went on to work successfully in the aerospace industry.)
Long story short--My sweetheart came back into my life when I had cancer, and we remarried. Now, I am helping him. Since remarrying my husband, my life has been better than I could ever have imagined. We both have been happy and successful, but during the past years of our marriage, we have been able to give each other the love and care we missed when we were young. We never found anyone else. He is my heart. I believe God has a plan and his plan was for us to find each other again so we would be there for each other.
Over the past six months, I have commuted one hour before and after work to visit my husband. He requires skilled nursing so he can not stay at home. People tell me I should not do this and that it is "wearing me out," but I have to see him because I miss him so much. We have had so many struggles over the past six months, but that is another story.
The point of this email is that each afternoon on my way home I listen to your radio show. I agree and laugh with you. I relate to you and am so thankful you are there to give advice to so many young people (as I often do as a department chair). Your show is part of my day and something I look forward to on the hour long ride home after being with my sweetheart. Thank you and thank you for affirming many of my beliefs.
Sharran
