My Wonderful Husband

Let me tell you how supportive my husband is of me. Right before we got married, I found out that my first application to the BYU nursing program had been rejected. This was, at the time, the end of life as I knew it. Derek dropped what he was doing and rushed to my house to take care of me. I cried and cried, and I was sure that he couldn't love me if I wasn't good enough to get into the program. But I was wrong. He just held me and told me how much he loved me, and that I was smart even though I felt stupid. He assured me that he still wanted to marry me and would support me as I applied a second time (fortunately, I was accepted that time).

Derek then supported me through the nursing program. Most of the time, he woke up with me on clinical days at 5 in the morning. He would make me breakfast, gather my things, and put together a lunch while I freaked out about being in a hurry. He also happily played the part of the guinea pig while I learned how to take blood pressure, give shots, and start IV's. (That's right, Derek has good veins, and he let me practice poking him. No joke.) He listened to me rant about the things I didn't like about the program and talk endlessly about the things I loved.

Around the same time that I got pregnant, I started a job as an LPN at a nursing home working the night shift. I was sick and tired all the time. Derek was there for me whenever I needed anything. Any food craving, he'd get for me. When I'd come home from work in the morning, he was ready to hear about my shift even though it was 6 am. He would leave for work during the day, but would tell me to just rest as much as I needed, and he would take care of all the housework when he got home.

Derek was also amazing through the pregnancy. He attended birthing classes with me three hours a week (we did hypnobirthing) and spent at least a half hour a day practicing the techniques we learned there (and more than that as the birth got closer). He listened intently as I talked and talked about my newfound interest in pregnancy and birth. Then when Jack was born, he helped me use my hypnobirthing skills which made the pain very manageable. He was there to give me a blessing when the events took a turn for the worse and I had an emergency cesarean (that blessing is one of the few things I remember clearly from the whole traumatic ordeal).

The weeks shortly following the birth were somewhat hellish. I was recovering from the c-section, struggling to breastfeed, and stressing about how on earth I was going to finish school. He was there to help me every step of the way. Somehow, I got through that time. I recovered without complications, succeeded with breastfeeding, and graduated. It's all a blur now and I don't have a clue how I did it, but I know that without Derek's encouragement it wouldn't have happened.

It's certainly not as if I was the only one with a lot going on during this time. Through all this, Derek was majoring in neuroscience, and studying his tail off to get good grades and score well on the MCAT. He also worked at the MTC. He graduated right before I got pregnant, but shortly thereafter he took the MCAT, started working full time, and had to do the grueling process of applications and interviews. So it's not as if he didn't have a full plate. He just really knows how to put his family first and show his love and support.

So, thank you Derek. You are wonderful. I could not have asked for a better husband. I want everyone to know just how awesome you are. I love you.