I Never Thought I’d Worry About A Flu Until
I got the flu this week. Complete with light fever, colds and cough. Common enough right? Nothing to really worry about but I did. During the height of my flu, I was in isolation (well, kind of). I slept in the living room the entire day and night while Alla and Percy slept in our bedroom. Our bedroom would usually have the AC turned on and I did not want to give Alla the flu too.
During this time, Alla took care of me. She made sure the window nearest me was closed so I wouldn’t feel the cold air. She would approach me, check if my back was wet with sweat, cover me with a blanket to make sure I wasn’t cold, brought me water and tissues, made me steam my face and cooked chicken soup for me. She tried to make me as comfortable as possible. She was doing all these things while she juggled working, and taking over my responsibilities. She washed the dishes, took my turn in feeding Percy and cleaned the entire house as well.
I’ve had the flu in the past and Alla did all these things for me and for Percy. So what made me worry? A dire situation entered my mind. What if I had something more serious? What if I needed to be in the hospital? What then?
Imagine feeling really sick and the one person you love the most cannot see you because she’s not “family” according to the law. Imagine feeling weak and your rock cannot be there to hold your hand, to tell you everything will be okay, to give you a warm embrace, to kiss you, to be with you… because she’s not “family” according to the law. Imagine being in writhing pain and the person that can help lessen that cannot be there with you because she’s not “family” according to the law. Imagine losing hope everyday, every hour, every minute and the person that brings light in your life cannot see you because she’s not “family” according to the law. Imagine the person that took care of you every single day for years not being able to see you when you both need each other the most… because she’s not “family” according to the law. Imagine being worried and you get stopped by the door because you’re not “family” according to the law.
Imagine. Just imagine.
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Even if I turn the tables, what if Alla was sick and I cannot be there to comfort her, to make sure she’s not cold, to hold her hand, to tell her everything will be okay, to kiss her, to embrace her, to be her rock, to ease her pain, to wipe her tears just because I’m not “family” according to the law.
What if? The thing is, this IS happening right now and I cannot fathom how people in these situations must feel. I am just imagining it and I feel my heart being twisted in all directions. If this happens, I do not know what I’d do.
Then I remembered, this is why we’re here. This is what we’re hoping for. For us to be able to be there for our loved one when the time comes that they need us the most. Right now, I can only do what we do and hope that something changes in this society.
For those who feel strongly about people like us, the LGBT, please try to imagine this. We have nothing against you, your beliefs or your religion. We just want to be there for the person that we’ve spent our lives with, the person that we love and care for the most and the person who is our entire world. If this warms even a single person’s heart, it would make a huge difference.
