Remembering our First Anniversary

 

Today I want to share with you John's and my  first wedding anniversary.    

 

I hope you'll enjoy this love story!

 

May 7, 2006, started out like any other day.  Well, a regular day for my husband John and me, anyway.  John was in the hospital being treated for complications from his bone marrow transplant.  Healing from a bone marrow transplant takes a long time.  So this was a regular day for us.  John in his hospital bed, me by his side.

 

Today was different though.  It was our first wedding anniversary!  I was feeling slightly down, but was determined to make this a special day.  I slipped down to the hospital gift shop to pick up a card for John.  Then I chose one for him to give to me.

 

I sat down in my chair.  John was getting prepped to get blood.  His blood was administered through an IV pump.  He had named the pump Baxter.  Baxter had become one of his closest friends.  John says Baxter went with him everywhere, even to the bathroom, LOL.

 

We sat back and relaxed because it was a Sunday afternoon.  John got in the frame of mind to receive his two blood transfusions.  We waited for the blood to arrive. 

 

Suddenly a group of medical personnel busted through the door.  First, in came Marie, John's nurse for the day.  She bore a fake red rose.  She was followed by lots of nurses and doctors.

 

They sang "Happy Anniversary" to John and me!  They were determined to make our day special even if we were trapped in the hospital!  

 

Marie, John's nurse, gave him a plastic red rose.  "Well give it to Krissy," she said.  "It's for her anniversary."  The reason why the rose was plastic is because bone marrow transplant recipients often can't be around live plants, especially when their immunities are low.  John gave me the rose.

 

Next came a beautiful, shiny red heart balloon weighted down by a bag of Hershey's Kisses. 

 

But the most thoughtful thing of all was when we were presented with a cake top. 

 

I was stunned.  Cake tops are not just made in a few minutes.  And nobody had known that it was our anniversary since a few hours before.  That meant that this was not a newly made cake top.  It meant that somebody had gone home, taken out their own cake top from their freezer and brought it to us, so we could have an anniversary.

 

Who would do such a thing?  Who sacrificed their cake top?  

 

We will never know, but later on, Marie asked us if it was special.  I replied, "It was excellent and very special."

 

After singing Happy Anniversary the group decided we should have privacy and closed the door.  They made a big deal about us having privacy! 

 

We ate the cake top, pretending it was ours.  Then John and I exchanged cards.  "You have good taste!"  I told him.  "How did you know what I'd like?"  "Oh I just knew," he laughed.  

 

John and I had a few more precious moments celebrating together quietly, but soon the door was opened and in walked Marie to take John's vitals (temperature, blood pressure, etc.) and give him blood.

 

What a precious gift the staff had given John and me.  We had a really nice anniversary despite the fact that John was in the hospital.  I lovethat staff. 

 

But most of all I love John.  

 

To read the original account:  John and my first Anniversary! 

 

             
                   Anniversary card John bought me

 

            
                     John receiving a blood transfusion

Tags: Wedding Anniversary, anniversary, surprise, celebration, cake top, rose, blood transfusion, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant, blogplugs