Posted by
Mike Silverman on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 6:29:38 PM
A lovely young respected nurse by the name of Patricia Jepsen spent over ten years caring for disabled men, women, boys and girls, at a nursing home facility in Iowa. A single parent with beautiful ebony hair, soft olive-complexion skin, deep penetrating dark eyes and a perfect smile, petite and physically attractive in every way, you would be hard pressed to understand why any man would risk losing her. However, she endured two heartbreaking and tension-filled divorces from men who abused, beat and cheated-on her. Along with this, in the 10th year of a promising career she was diagnosed with a severe condition of Chrons disease. This is an aliment of the bowel system that eats away at the intestinal tract diminishing the body's natural ability to absorb nutrients, as well as being very painful. The most extreme Chrons cases cause holes, ruptures and blockages requiring surgeries and radical medical treatments. Patricia has the misfortune of having one of the most extreme cases of Chrons ever known in the US. Before I continue , let me assure you that human language knows no words of horror sufficient enough to detail the bloody physical and psychological torments that Patricia has undergone as a result. The powerful drugs used to treat her Chrons triggered cancer of the lymphs, it is suspected that the culprit is a drug manufactured under the brand name of Remicade, further requiring her to endure a long process of chemo-therapy and radiation which severely weakened her immune system. Patricia's condition was so tenuous that she made a journey from her home state of Iowa, to Massachusetts to consult with a Gastroenterology expert at Mass General. I had the great good fortune to meet Patricia, who prefers to be called Pat or Trish, while I was using a Web Based personals service. From the first moment we met, Trish was open and honest about herself and expressed a great deal of maturity and sensitivity. We found an immediate attraction. Later Trish introduced me to her two wonderful beautiful daughters Danielle and Jennifer, both highly intelligent and talented young ladies. Jennifer at 18 is a brilliant student, in the process of transitioning to college, she works at a nursing home caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. She is a warm hearted woman who loves animals, poetry, and has a strong independent spirit. Danielle at 14 is simply amazing. She has a penchant for math, language skills, draws and writes expertly, is a spectacular cheerleader and gymnast, loves to learn new things and is a genuine, honest, and loving person. Trish has raised her daughters with love, care, and strong guidance. Despite the real physical suffering she endures every day, Trish has not permitted it to stop her from living her life as an example of standing for the highest values of human morality. Though given her condition she can not maintain a job with regular work hours, she baby-sits at home for long hours, caring for the children she watches as if they were her own. Despite exhaustion and agonizing weariness, despite the persistent need to give herself long doses of IV medication every day simply to sustain her life, she does what few people could. She smiles, she laughs, and she finds a reason to look forward and hold onto a positive outlook. She doesn't merely live, she lives life itself and does so with amazingly good cheer. The biblical icon JOB himself would have surely faltered under the burdens Trish endures every day. There is much more that I could say. So many examples I could present of this beautiful endearing woman whose heart of gold can not be crushed, though fate tries to every day.
My reason for explaining all of this is because Trish is a truly remarkable woman. She is a prime example of Conservative principles, without choosing to be, she simply lives her life as a good, decent, person doing the best she can do with the dire circumstances life handed her. She does not expect to be given anything that she has not earned, she gives constantly of herself to others in need, though she has very little herself. And she does not drown in self-pity, but grabs hold of her own spirit and lifts it up, unwilling to cede her existence to forces that work daily to drag her down. There are many reasons to love and admire such a woman, and I do love and admire her.