The past few months have been dominated by operations, complications, rehabilitation and pain for Marie-Anne. Despite everything, this is a positive blog!
Any downside…
Marie-Anne:As a great philosopher from Watergraafsmeer in Amsterdam once said:'Every disadvantage has its advantage'.
Group App
While I was hospitalized, I created a Watts app group with some friends, my sister and oldest daughter that I called 'hassle patient'. Someone changed this title to 'Fan Club', I already got a very warm feeling about that. The messages in the group flew back and forth. Sometimes I briefly described my day in the hospital and the planning for the following days. Then I got reassuring words back, a picture of beautiful flowers, a heart and sometimes just a silly joke because it was such a nice distraction.
Sweet and practical
My dear husband ran back and forth between his busy work. He did an incredible amount at home and with the children, but he also had to go abroad a number of times for work. ah. This also gave the fan club a practical side. It was arranged who would prepare the children for school early in the morning, what I still needed in terms of medicines and whether my girls still needed after-school care.
Touching decision
When my husband and youngest children decided to go to Turkey for the planned week (at my explicit request), the eldest spontaneously decided to stay behind with me in the Netherlands. moving. She was also very much looking forward to a week at Club Med, but made her decision without batting an eyelid.
Water ballet
My sister and a friend washed my hair while I was in my hospital bed:it turned out to be a hilarious water ballet. moving. My friend (another one) came with her husband (patron cuisinier) to bring my favorite dish from their restaurant. moving. Early every morning I got a message on my phone… They knew that the mornings were quite lonely and exciting (or surgery again?) And every morning, huh! Moving!
Support
And so I can make a whole list, without wanting to come across as 'cheesy', with gestures that pleased and moved me for days. A friend stayed with me in the hospital all day while I went through the worst tests. Between the ultrasound, the blood test and the puncture, the dutiful sweetheart made a vigorous gesture to make a business call (she actually had a working day from home) but was of great support to me.
Thank you dear fan club
A glass of fresh orange juice in bed, sweet strawberries, delicious home-made meatballs, magazines and the most beautiful flowers pulled me through the darkest moments. It's an old cliché and so true:in times of need one gets to know one's friends. As I wrote somewhere in the Fanclub discussion:'I have a fan base that Justin Bieber can be jealous of'. If Mark Rutte only knew what a participation society was going on around me, it would certainly make him happy.
