I talked to an angel

After being given a little drug, I was feeling relaxed.

My surgery was about 30 minutes ahead of me.

But I shouldn’t be melodramatic. It was not life-threatening.

I was being put under the knife, and was about to be put under total anesthesia—which I didn’t like. I have heard too many stories of anesthesia causing cognitive loss. A surgeon friend with much experience reassured me that because my surgery was relatively short, I need not worry.

Don’t get me wrong. I was given what I think was a relaxant, so I was fairly clear intellectually.

I saw an angel. And I talked with her.

She didn’t have wings. In fact, she has three kids.

I had asked her what time she had started that morning. When she said three-fifteen this morning, I reacted in shock. What?! What time are you leaving today?

Maybe five o’clock, she said.

Fourteen hours? How many hours a week do you work?

Only thirty.

Oh, so your husband works full-time? (I realize now that I was getting nosey, and should not have presumed that she had a husband. Not in this world of so many single parents.)

No, she said. Her husband is a stay-at-home Dad, and she tries to be at home as much as possible too.

Because we have a special-needs child, she said. One of her sons has a disease that stunts his growth and leaves him mentally as a three-year-old, and he will never have a mental age of more than five.

But he is so full of love, she said. And he teaches us about love. We are so glad we have him.

Their other two children, eight and ten, love their brother. He has such joy in life, and it is infectious.

I told her that 90% of Downs Syndrome babies are aborted.

So tragic, she said. People probably think they would be a burden. They don’t realize how happy they can be. Our son is so happy. He loves life.

Then, just before I was wheeled off for surgery, she left me with a thought that leaves me now in tears.

You know, she said, people think it would be hard to live with mental retardation. But I think my son is smarter than the rest of us. He finds joy when so many people cannot, even though they have so much more.

I met an angel yesterday outside the operating room. I hope I never forget her.