The Luckiest Man Alive
One small gesture ...

Every weekly art rotation has its magical moments – the ones we tuck away forever. I shared one such moment with an older couple as I entered my final room for the day. I noted that the gentleman in the bed did not appear to be terribly lucid. His wife however, seemed eager to visit. So I approached her instead.

Kananaskis Wolf (Image by Kananaskis Country)

As soon as we began to speak about the pictures her husband perked up and immediately joined in the conversation. He eagerly told me that he and his wife lived outside the city in the magnificent Rocky Mountain countryside known as Kananaskis Country.

I knew we had several mounted posters from the Kananaskis collection and proceeded to bring their picture of a wolf to his bedside. The man was overcome with emotion. He began to shake and cry exclaiming that this was "HIS" wolf; the "one he lived with". It was in fact, identical to the framed poster hanging in his den at home.

The patient reached over, clasping his wife's hand tightly. "I must be the luckiest man alive," he said. "I don't know how to thank you."

This very gentle man had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. His leg had been amputated and he was now being treated for a post-op infection. And yet, because of one small gesture, he felt like the luckiest man alive.

Despite the lateness of the hour, or accumulated fatigue, I knew I would never again omit the last room of the day. Sometimes the most magical moments are waiting there.