till death do us apart

Till death do us apart.

The famous phrase which is stated again and again in a marriage vow. Yet, how many of us actually stick to it?

Marriage is not an easy thing. It surely does sounds like fun, hehe, but the responsibilities that comes together with it is certainly not something that can simply be dissmissed.

My experience of being in placements in various departments made me aware of this. I have seen how a wife stood by her husband, who was badly disfigured due to parotid malignancy. I, myself, to be honest, was completely caught off guard when I first saw this man. His face was badly disfigured that he appeared almost less human. A 2 year old might cry if (s)he catch a glimpse of this poor man. Yes, it was that bad. But, amazingly, despite all of that, his wife was by his side all the time. Her smile never left her face. I can just sense her love to her husband when i watched her taking care of him. She must have loved him so. She really did stick to him til the very end. That poor man passed away 2 days after i met him..

I have also seen how a husband stood by his wife. His wife has bipolar affective disorder and hence her mood is very unpredictable. At one time, she will be on top of the world, and at other times her mood will be as low as if she had dropped into a blackhole. When she was low, she will be wailing and crying and will be having the nasty flashbacks of all of the horrible things that had been happening to her. She hates doctors and refuse to trust anyone. She takes every small things seriously. She was just a difficult patient to manage. I have been with them for the past 5 weeks, and i can see how her husband is trying to cope with her wife. He cried for her, wanting only the very best for her, which is something that she failed to see. Obviously because she has poor insight about her condition. They had a 'drama' yesterday during the ward rounds, and she insisted on leaving without her treatment. Her husband tried to persuade her to stay, but failed. I was afraid that he might burst his temper and force her to stay, but amazingly, he did nothing like that. He was so calm and tried to convince her again that she needs treatment, but to no avail. In the end, he left the consultation room, crying..

So now i see how marriage is a serious thing. You've made a vow to be with your wedded husband (or wife) till death comes. For better or worse.

p/s: i am unwell and was told to relax hence here i am, blogging. heheh.