Friday, March 06, 2015
Early today a visit to the second floor of 2 Dudley Street brought back strong memories. It was there after valeting the van, exiting the elevator, walking away from the check in counter and finishing up with what has become our routine x-rays, the flashbacks came.
Momentarily I was disoriented. Lost, even; – in such familiar surroundings. This campus had been my home for over 25 years. Its buildings, tunnels and walkways, corridors, nooks and crannies had been mine to roam. Over the years I had been there at the break of dawn and in the dead of night. At one point in time it was that place where “everyone knew your name”. My history was interwoven with its growth-having been part of the launch of Lifespan television and even singing the National Anthem for the groundbreaking of the Emergency Room. Now, I felt a stranger wandering in the recesses of some nightmare.
And just like that I was back. And where I returned to was the sanctity of a physician who has held our hand and our hearts for just days shy of 12 years. Dr. Craig Eberson entered our life in the worst possible scenario. Our meeting was one of a frantic and urgent nature. And when on this cold March morning of 2015 he walked through the office door to greet us, I saw the same compassionate expression in his gentle eyes and felt the same grace and strength in his hands as I did all those years ago.
Our visits are always over too soon. Even though we are booked for triple the time allotted and take much more than that, it never seems enough. He marvels, swells with pride and says “remarkable” as much to describe the young woman before him as to describe her presentation as this point in the journey. Finally it is time to go-but, before we do our eyes lock and there is an unspoken exchange followed by a hug.
I am back in the familiar now-I am in the present-back in a place of gratitude and marvel. #For Life as You Know It Can Change In a Moment.
