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doctor the same story but no one would have been there to be Gail’s advocate. You see, when a patient is kept drugged up for pain, they have no idea what is happening to them or when it’s happening. They are often unable to speak for themselves. There was absolutely no chance I’d ever potentially leave Gail or anyone I care about in that vulnerable position again.
    Even though I’d adhered to the “leave no man behind” philosophy since I was in the military, this was the seminal moment when I vowed to myself that it would be my policy for life. No one deserves to be alone when they are sick, helpless and unable to care for themselves.
    This point was driven home a few days later when one of Gail’s doctors stopped me in the hallway.
    “I hear you’ve been giving Gail her showers instead of letting our nursing staff do it,” he said.
    It’s true that I had started giving Gail her showers because her room didn’t have a wheelchair-accessible shower stall in it, so Gail had to be taken to another room that had the right kind of shower. I’d get her bundled up in a warm blanket and take her there myself. I lifted her out of her wheelchair and placed her into a shower chair—a special chair designed to be used by patients who cannot stand on their own. I’d get her washed, take her out, dry her hair and then wheel her back to her room, where I’d lift her into bed again. I did the same thing when she needed to go to the bathroom, too. I’d carry her from the bed to the toilet and then back again. Frankly, after the run-in with that nurse, I didn’t trust Gail in anyone’s hands but mine.
    I wasn’t really sure where the doctor was headed with our conversation.
    “Well, just be careful because I’ve heard you’ve already dropped her once,” the doctor said in a very condescending tone. I looked him straight in the eyes and said, “What are you talking about?” I was really angry by his accusation because there was no shred of truth to what he was saying.
    “One of our technicians mentioned that you dropped Gail while carrying her to the bathroom.”
    “That is a total lie! The nurse dropped her. I watched her take Gail to the toilet and she turned her back for a moment and let Gail fall. Nobody will ever touch her in this hospital again. Outside of her doctors, I will be the only one to take care of Gail. Do you understand what I am saying?” I could feel the blood in my body begin to boil as I lambasted this doctor for the offensive and false accusation he was making.
    It turned out that the nurse on duty who had dropped Gail wrote in her daily report that I had dropped her because she was afraid that if the truth came out she would lose her job. When I confronted her, she began to cry and apologized for her mistake. Look, I get that people make mistakes—we are all human. However, I was willing, ready and able to be a royal pain in the ass if it meant keeping Gail safe and secure during her recovery. I was in love with her and she was critically injured. If I couldn’t be her advocate, who would be?
    By the time we got back to Craig Hospital, I’d told everyone at RE/MAX that Gail was my top priority. I needed to stay by her side so nothing like this would ever happen again. We were a much smaller company at the time—just twenty-five of us in the office—but every single person stepped up to help in any way they could. Secretaries stopped at my house in the mornings to feed and walk our dog. They’d sometimes bring him into the office so he wasn’t alone all of the time. Everyone played with him, threw the ball around and let him run at lunchtime. At night another group would feed and walk him or take him back to the house. Sometimes I’d take a couple of hours away from Gail so I could go home, see the dog, take a shower, open mail and nap before heading right back to the hospital. But when I did leave, I made damn sure there was always someone with Gail.
    After several weeks of this