The Bear Minimum

Let me spin the tale as to why my week has felt so very long, and has been so very rewarding.

Some five years ago I gained a new patient. Not an unusual thing, I’m often gaining new patients and fondly saying goodbye to those I’ve already helped. This patient, however, came along about the same time that Skype started to become well known. Why would these two things coincide, you might ask, well that’s because this patient approached me via email at first, and then once arrangements were made, our sessions were over Skype.

This patient was, well, still is, an agoraphobe. She had some underlying anxiety, which because it was left addressed, grew into fully fledged agoraphobia: she was afraid to leave her house. At all. When her and I first started our sessions, she’d not left her home in eleven years. That’s an amazing amount of time. Her adoring husband had taken care of her that entire time, as well as working a full time job, and now that her husband was retiring, she wanted to repay him with his ultimate dream.

For as long as she’d known the man - a good thirty-eight years at that point, I believe, he’d wanted to visit the Pyramids in Egypt, and he wanted to do it with his wife by his side. He’d never begrudged her for her disorder, but it was still his dream. So one day, when my patient heard about Skype - she was a proficient internet user already at this point - she decided it was now time that she could and would get help.

For the last week I’ve spoken with my client nearly every day. Three years ago we had our first break-through, in that she was able to go outside and collect the post. She’s collected the post every day since. A few months later she was able to garden outside with her husband - something they’ve both flourished with and both love heartily - and now their roses are incredible. Two years ago they started taking short walks, only a few houses up the street at first, but this was incredible, and my patient was so excited, and her husband so proud, that she’s just flourished in the past two years.

Early last year the two of them took a weekend away at a nice bread and breakfast by the sea, and now, just last night, very late last night, she and her husband boarded a plane for Cairo, to see the Pyramids. My patient was frightened to go so far from home and her comfort zone, but she bravely pressed on because of her love for her husband and his life-long dream. I couldn’t be prouder of her, and I’m so happy for him. They’re a wonderful couple, and I look forward to hearing about their journey when they return.