A voice from the past

Cliff's open heart surgery was performed almost three years ago. When he entered the hospital, one of the first people he met was a fellow who was almost ready to graduate from his respiratory therapy classes. Or whatever. The guy's name was Mike. He explained to Cliff how to use the incentive spirometer.

Cliff's heart surgeon, Dr. Gallion, asked Mike if he'd like to watch Cliff's surgery, and Mike gladly took him up on the offer.

Speaking of Dr. Gallion, we have yet to find any doctor, nurse or patient of his who has anything but good to say about him. Cliff has decided the man must walk on water. But I digress.

I think we only dealt with Mike for a couple of days, but he and I exchanged email addresses. Every once in awhile, he'd email me and ask, "How's Cliff doing?"

Because after all, he had actually seen Cliff's heart exposed. Something even I, Cliff's wife of many, many years, have never seen. Even though I OWN his heart.

Then came Facebook: somehow I met up with Mike there, and "friended" him.

Today he and I had a twenty-minute-or-so IM on Facebook. He has plans of going on to becoming an ER nurse. More power to him. We discussed his smoking (he still does... a respiratory theripist!), his recent marriage, and the state of everybody's health: Cliff and I are doing fine; Mike had a kidney stone, pnuemonia, and the flu this past winter.

I'm only telling all this to once again bring your attention to the wonders of the Internet. One of the few people in the world who actually saw Cliff's heart beating, live and in person, can still contact me and ask, "How's Cliff doing?"

And that's another thing I love about the Internet.

I copied and printed my whole conversation with Mike, so Cliff could read it.

And I now, once again, thank God, my friend Joanna (who suggested Cliff's indigestion might be heart trouble), the nurse-practitioner who caught his heart problem, and the almost divine Dr. Gallion. And even a respiratory theripist who smokes, for caring how Cliff is doing.