When you're the unforgettable one

I have heard a lot of stories about unforgettable patients. I've even told a few of my own. Today, I'm reminded of how I was one of those unforgettable people.

Dr. L. was my mother's doctor. For a time, he was the family doctor of many of the folks within 30 miles of our home. Doc L. was an old school doctor. He did everything--house calls, delivering babies, you name it. He was in World War II and told my husband about a condition called jeepitis, or Jeep disease. It had a real name, though, by the time Dahey got it in the military.

Dr. L. was also my grandparents doctor. They loved him.

How did I get to be unforgettable, you ask? My mother was his patient. We were at a family gathering after Dahey and I got married when we saw him again (Dr. L. eventually married into the family after he was widowed).

Dr. L. pulled us aside and said, "You know, I've never told you this, RehabRN, but I'll never forget your mother. I will never forget the day I had to tell her she had cancer. All the thoughts going through my head and thinking about your dad and you kids. I have to say that in all my years of practice, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do."

"But I'm here right now, and I look at all of you, and everything that has happened, and I see that you all turned out alright. That everything turned out for the best. And I am happy I am here to see it."

Today, we said goodbye to Dr. L. Family and friends gathered at the chapel of the local nursing home run by the good sisters. The sister who ran the nursing home told us Dr. L. was a lot of fun to work with. He also was the sisters' doctor for many years, coming to see them on his day off.

It was his wish to have the sisters send him off from their place, since he spent time there and enjoyed their chapel. He was then buried at the local cemetery with military honors, on a beautiful, windswept hill, near a wood.

The rain that was predicted never came, but the sunny skies made us all give thanks for the light he was in all of our lives.

Godspeed Dr. L. I certainly won't forget you, either.

Some things you just can't forget...

1. Seeing a patient for the first time and how sick they look when they come to you for rehab.

2. Seeing that same patient after discharge and they look so alive they glow.

3. Nurse Practictioner's Place talks about those two dirty words that are unforgettable.