I had just visited my wife of 51 years, who is in a skilled nursing facility after experiencing a near fatal illness called encephalitis caused by a herpes virus. The viral infection was in her spine and in the fluid around her brain causing the brain to swell. The most damage was to the left lobe of her brain, which is the location where speech and word recognition is generated. Her speech and ability to respond with words was greatly impacted. There were also other negative effects with cognition and memory. This all started nearly 6 months ago. She has been in and out of hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and nursing facilities. She is doing much better now and I hope to bring her home in the next few weeks so I can care for her here and she can hopefully continue to improve.
I had some time in the afternoon one day so I decided to go for a short hike on a mountain trail I had used many times before. The Aspen Grove Trail on Mount Timpanogos. As I was going up the trail I noticed a gray piece of cloth hanging on a post. I didn’t pay any attention to it. When I came down, I noticed the piece of cloth again but again I didn’t pay any attention to it. About 50 yards further down the trail I noticed a red cloth attached to a bush and bent down to pick it up. It was a cloth heart. I suspect the gray cloth I had seen twice earlier was also a heart.
When I got home I looked up your web site. You are doing a good thing. I wouldn’t say my experience with the heart has been particularly inspiring but it has caused me to reflect on how things could have gone the other way and I could be alone now. I will take it when I visit my wife today and tell her the story and tell her how much I love her.
