A Few Words From the Wife

My husband is my hero.
He is my rock. He is my inspiration.
And today, as he continues to recover from gastric sleeve surgery, he is more my hero than ever before.

It has been an interesting several months from my vantage point, dating back to that routine doctor's appointment when Eric came home talking about a growing interest in bariatric surgery. Up to that point, the topic had not been discussed, except for noting friends or colleagues who had had one of the procedures done. When Eric shared with me his desire to meet with a surgeon and "feel out the possibility" of surgery, I knew we were going to be in for a wild ride. Had I known that from that day to when surgery happened would be less than 6 months, I might have held on a bit tighter! (who knew that liquid diets could make a person so... ditzy!?)

From October through January, I watched Eric mentally prepare for this change in life. I watched him as he researched and read the pre and post-surgical data. I listened to him as he shared conversations with others who had had similar procedures done. I stood back and let him find his own way through much of it, while trying my hardest to offer my unwavering and prayerful support for what was ahead. With each step he took toward the decision to have surgery, and with each step he took in preparing for those two weeks prior to surgery, he became more and more my hero. Today, having seen him come through surgery and begin to heal, he is evermore-so the one I admire.

I am a firm believer that times of crisis, challenge, and trauma will often make you more of who you truly are. People who are negative become more negative. People who are positive find strength in their positive-thinking. People who are full of grace and hope will continue to exude those qualities, even in the most difficult of times. As we prepared to live at the hospital for several days due to surgery recovery AND a blizzard that was to (and did!) shut down the town, Eric remained positive. As he was in pain and in a difficult room-mate situation post-op, he was gracious and respectful of the nurses. And as Eric grew stronger, and the days ran longer for the snow-bound hospital staff that were working extra long shifts, Eric was full of smiles and kind words. Through this difficult, painful, uncertain time, Eric has become, well, more Eric.

Eric being Eric is very important to me. I fell in love with Eric 16 years prior to this surgery. I fell in love and have grown deeper in love with this man every day of those 16 years in his pre-surgery state. I joked with him prior to surgery that everything was about to change - the way we hug, the way we spoon, the way we hold hands - it would all change as his body changes. I have heard some stories of personalities that have changed in negative ways post-surgery, as well. Thankfully, those stories seem to be minimal and also tend to illustrate my previous point -- that during times of great challenge and change, we become more truly who we are. Already, I am noticing Eric's body changing. The scale is showing it, his clothes are showing it, and yes, our hugs are hugging different. But different is good because in all of this, "my" Eric from 16 years ago, is still "my" Eric. In his relatively short time post-op, Eric continues to be more himself -- gracious and loving towards our girls, kind and loving towards me, and witty, smart, and faith-filled about life in general.

My husband is my hero. He is courageous as he faces this new reality of health and wellness. He is admirable as he has, with a sound mind, researched the options and made a decision that is right for him. And he is quite simply, "my" Eric - my husband. My friend. My hero.

Post Script: I know you are all eager to hear from the man himself as he recovers. He will be in touch shortly -- once he is able to knock the "anesthesia brain" back into line. Do know that surgery went very well and that he is recovering nicely. I promise you that it won't be long before he is back to the blogosphere to report on his experience.