Gertie and Harold

Gertie* had an early appoinment with the doctor I work for and Harold* made the two hour drive to get her here. I overheard bits of her story from the next room and the rest of the details were filled in by the assistant, Kristan.

When our assistants tell new patients they will be taking a photo for our records most of them look blankly at the camera. Not Gertie. She broke into a huge smile and threw her hands into the air seemingly just to punctuate her smile.

A phone rang. Gertie pulled out her two way radio and answered. "How are you doing, sweetie?" A little chatter, then, "I love you, honey!" She told the assistant it was her husband. He was calling her from the parking lot to make sure she was all right! "You wanna talk to the nurse, honey?" After she hung up, Harold came into the office to join his wife. The doctor was with another patient so they had a chance to chat with Kristan.

Gertie was from Texas, and as a young woman came to Michigan to visit a relative. While here, she met Harold and they were smitten. Ten days later they were married! I heard Harold say, "We met at a friend's bar," and he was quick to add, "But I wasn't drunk when I asked her to marry me."

Now remember, my patient and I are in the next room hearing bits of this conversation. My patient grinned and said, "They were married ten days after they met?" I replied, "It'll never last..."

Harold and Gertie have been married 52 years, she worked as his secretary for 30 years and they raised a family. They fit this mini biography into a 5 minute time span and left several people with a smile and a warm heart.

*The names were changed to protect privacy.