The Day We Met

The day we met

The day we met
Tisha Smith
Eng 121

My day started like any other day at work. I was dreading coming in as it was a beautiful spring day. I was running late as usual so I came in the back door. As soon as I clocked it my friend and coworker said there is someone I want you to meet. I reluctantly went out to the front porch of my facility, and there he was. I didn’t know it then, but I met the man that would change my life forever.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a beautiful March day, he was sitting in his chair on the front porch leaned back in the sun. He was so tan. He had Oakley shades on. I thought to myself he is so good looking. Meyosha, my friend said this is Tisha, she is a nurse here. He said “Hi I’m Dave”. I felt like a little school girl, so shy. I simple said “hello” and that was it. I remember running back in the front door red faced. I then was told that Dave was here in the facility for rehab.
Dave had fallen off of a roof the previous September. He had become paralyzed from the chest down and only had very little arm movement. But he was so full of life. He was only 33 years old. Could you imagine your whole life changing in an instant? Neither could I . I couldn’t understand it at all. Why somebody so young end up in a nursing home where I worked.
I noticed he was quiet, so I began talking to him daily. We had so much in common. We both had worked on some of the same subdivisions when I was doing land surveying and he was building houses. I found out that we actually lived within two miles from each other for 10 years, though we never met before now. We knew a lot of the same people. He made me laugh. I haven’t laughed so much in all my life.
I started looking forward to coming to work just so I could see him on my breaks. I would spend my breaks feeding him breakfast or lunch. I looked forward to it. Anything he wanted I would go get no matter how small. He loved junk food so I would get him little Debbie’s and skittles. One day he was sitting there staring at me. I remember saying “what are you thinking about?”.Dave said” I’m thinking about kissing you”. I leaned in and kissed him. He was shocked. He never thought I would do it.
On my way home that day I was surprised that I had did it as well. But me and Dave had a connection that I couldn’t explain. When I was around him everything was fine. I could always talk to Dave. He never judged me. At times I would feel so bad when I would talk about my problems, I mean they were nothing compared to his.
He left the facility and our relationship blossomed. We got to spend real time together. I got to meet his daughters, who were just like him; funny and pretty. I spent my birthday weekend in September with him and his girls. It was the best birthday ever. We were so in love. I hated anytime I had to spend away from him. We were two peas in a pod.
I went to visit my sister in Tennessee in late October. I remember trying to call Dave but I didn’t get a answer. When I returned two days later he was sick he could barely breathe. I begged him to go to the hospital but he didn’t want to go. He said it’s just a cold it will go away. But it didn’t he didn’t want to get out of the bed. He was so weak but still wouldn’t go to the doctor. He was sick for two months coughing. I begged him please go to the doctor and he finally said “okay”. That was in January.
He spent two weeks in the hospital. On very high concentrated oxygen and IV antibiotics. The doctors told us that he had had pneumonia so long that it had hardened in his left lung and it was no longer exchanging air. They put in a chest tube but was unable to drain any fluid from the lung due to the thickness of the mucus. Due to Dave’s ongoing illness he had lost a lot of weight. They put in a feeding tube to try to give him nutrition to help him heal. He was then discharged. He got better for a little while but then he got sick again The cough came back. Due to his paralysis he was unable to cough on his on. I had to cough him manually. He was now getting breathing treatments and oral antibiotics but they just didn’t seem to help. We both knew that Dave was at high risk for developing pneumonia due to his condition. We just thought he was going to beat it.
I will never forget that Monday morning. I got up like any other day, got me and the kids ready. A friend called, I remember being told Dave died. I was in disbelief. I screamed “why “. I almost fell to the floor. I sat down and cried. That was three weeks ago. I’m still crying.
I am so grateful that I met the love of my life on that beautiful March day, even though I didn’t know it then. He changed my life in so many ways. He taught me what true love is about. Love is not a physical thing. It is a spiritual thing. And I love Dave with my whole heart and soul. Nobody ever understood our relationship. People couldn’t look past his disability. I never seen it, he was just Dave to me. We had plans to spend the rest of lives together. I will always love him.