a shared heartbeat

i should be reading for book club tomorrow, but instead i am sitting here with tears in my eyes after reading an article someone posted to facebook this evening.

"iowa couple married for 72 years dies holding hands, an hour apart"

i may not be a sappy person, but i couldn't resist the article after seeing that title. as i read, i found tears forming just behind my eyelashes desperate to escape down my cheeks.

the article recounts the story of an elderly couple involved in a car accident on their way into town. the couple was sent to the emergency room, but it was eventually determined that they would not survive their injuries. they were then moved to a room where their beds could be close enough together to hold hands.

"'they joined hands; his right hand, her left hand,' sheets said.

gordon yeager died at 3:38 pm. he was no longer breathing, but the family was surprised by what his monitor showed.

'someone in there said, 'why, then, when we look at the monitor is the heart still beating?' sheets recalled.

'the nurse said dad was picking up mom's heartbeat through mom's hand'

'and we thought, 'oh my gosh, mom's heart is beating through him,' dennis yeager said."

...her heart was beating through him.


last night as i was caring for pete's sore feet and itchy face, i couldn't help but cry. his face was itching relentlessly and he had chewed his feet so badly that they were painfully raw. i searched him for fleas. i checked for injuries. i felt his hurried heart beat. i was determined to find out what was wrong and fix it for him. i researched online. i called his old vet in NC. i did everything short of going to a 24 hour animal hospital.

eventually though, i simply held him in my arms and rocked him gently, trying to calm his anxiety. i didn't know what to do to help him calm down but to love him, which somehow worked more than any of the other methods i attempted. eventually his heart beat slowed to a normal pace and either the itching ceased or he was too tired to fight it any longer.

today i started him on a steroid, bathed him in an awesome new dog shampoo, treated his feet, trimmed his nails and even bought a cone of shame in case he still went after his poor little feet. i don't know if it was the pill, the shampoo, treatment, or the threat of the cone, but he is itch free. he hasn't touched his feet and hasn't scratched his face this evening. he is a tired, but happy puppy again. last night, however, the only thing that would comfort him was for me to hold him close to my heart and let him feel my calm.

because sometimes there is nothing we can do for one another but share a heartbeat. i wonder if that is what gordon and norma were for each other in those last moments - a shared heartbeat, a calm spirit, a common love.

"'dad used to say that a woman is always worth waiting for,' dennis yeager said. 'dad waited an hour for her and held the door for her.'"