IN SICKNESS AS IN HEALTH

1985.

We are the World was the number one hit of the year. Followed by Take on Me at number two and I Want to Know What Love Is was at number three.

When my wife Carol and I exchanged our vows thirty years ago this month, we had a pretty good idea what love was. It was what we felt for each other. It was the commitment we made to each other. And it was the confidence we would be there for each other. No matter what.

But we had no idea how much we would be tested.

From the beginning of our marriage Carol's health was an issue. She had epilepsy, and within a year her job as a hairdresser had to end. She would have a seizure in the middle of cutting a client's hair. And I went to get her, assuring her that everything would be all right.

Then there was the overdose of phenobarbytal. The specialist screwed up, prescribing double the right amount. And I again had to go to her side, this time in the hospital, to tell her it would be all right. That error cost us our opportunity to have children of our own. But we moved forward.

And so it has gone for 30 years. Each time she (and, on occasion, I) had a medical crisis to face, the other would be there, providing assurances that everything would be all right.

Except it's not all right. She now has Dercum's Disease. And cognitive impairment. And no strength, even to get a glass of water for herself. It's like she's 30 years older than her actual age.

And I'm exhausted. I've never fully recovered from a quadriceps rupture and the three surgeries it required. Nor from the concussion I received in a car accident a year ago.

We each have every reason to be disappointed in how our marriage has turned out. But we're not. Nor will we be.

Yes, illness and injury have visited us far more than our share. But that has meant that we have had the opportunity to become closer and dearer to each other.

Yes, my dream for many children didn't happen. But the one child we adopted has turned out well, and he is prepared to step in if something happens to me to ensure his mom gets proper care.

Yes, my faith has been tested, but God has always been there for us, meeting every need.

30 years down. And, I hope, at least 30 to go, living up to the vows we declared decades ago:

For better, for worse,
For richer, for poorer,
In sickness as in health.

contributed by: Earl Blacklock