STORYTIME TAPESTRY

The Newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world

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Special Treat ??“ New writer - Mary Ann Hodge

Jan 21, 2006

Please welcome Mary Ann Hodge, writer #283, for Storytime Tapestry.?  I met Mary Ann through a network I belong to.?  She wrote this story about her dear husband, and I just knew it was something to be shared with Storytime Tapestry members.?  Mary Ann is quite bashful, please let her know what you think of her work and I will send it on to her.

Healing From The Heart

Mary Ann Hodge

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I feel real resistance to doing this, but I value what you are trying to achieve so I will do my best to comply.

I heard a story about 22 years ago about a woman in her 40's who discovered a lump in her breast. This was back in the day when radical mastectomies were done. The surgery was immediate and the surgeon removed so much tissue he even removed glands from under her arm pit. This woman was a mother of four children. Her eldest was a young man in college, her daughter was just under 20 and the two remaining sons were 17 and 13 years old.

When the surgery was complete the woman asked to be allowed to go home early to be reunited with her family. The doctor didn't recommend it but he made it clear if she did, she would need to have an at home nurse for round the clock care. The woman was so anxious to be home she promised the doctor but knew it was out of her financial ability to comply.

Although her family was happy to have her home and she was in a very loving marriage, when she explained the conditions of her early release, each of the family members declined when they saw the process of what needed to be done. Everyone except her youngest son. Daily he would prepare her meals, administer her medication, remove the soiled packing from the pocket remaining where her breast had been, flush it out with saline & chlorine solutions and then repack the bandaging. When he came home from school, he would repeat the process and again before she went to bed.

When it came time for the woman's post operative check, when the doctor removed her bandages and inspected the wound he was shocked at how advanced the healing process was. He was so impressed that he insisted on knowing the name of the nurse assigned to her care. The woman blushed to admit that it was her 13 year old son who had cared for her. The doctor said, "this young boy should be a doctor, I've never seen a wound like this heal so beautifully".

When the woman repeated the doctors comments to her son, he replied, "I just did what anyone would do". He gave himself no credit for standing up when his father, brothers and sister couldn't stomach to help.

This young boy is now 44 and I am lucky enough to be his wife. Because he is just being himself, he doesn't see it as anything special but I know better and so does his mother.

When we were expecting our first baby, I was 5 1/2 months along and I began to bleed. I was sure that I was destined to loose our baby as all my sisters had. I was crying to my husband that if I was to loose our baby I knew I wouldn't get a chance to even hold it. Without hesitation he said, "oh honey don't you see that you are holding our baby closer and safer than anyone ever possibly could." Hearing this made me feel infused with love and I knew he was right. He has a magic touch with both words and deeds and both are straight from the heart.


I know if I had lost the baby I couldn't have been with a more perfect partner and I know beyond a doubt that if we have to experience breast cancer, that he would never see me as any less of a woman. I am lucky to live with a person so

enlightened and loving.

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