On Thanksgiving Day, I am most thankful for Hadi.
I am thankful for his example of courage.
Courage is a man who changes careers and changes countries for love.
Courage is a man who risks his life to be a photojournalist, from refugee camps to war zones, as an honest witness, not for personal glory.
Courage is a man who risks his life to save his partner — in journalism and in life — after an alleged al Qaeda attack.
Courage is a man who slogs through knee-deep sand in the dark, carrying a stretcher bearing his near-dead wife.
Courage, with humor, is a man who relinquished the stretcher to a woman military medic because she was stronger.
Courage is a man who didn’t sleep or eat for days, who moved through shock and horror, wearing desert gear in the cold of winter, following his wife from one trauma surgery ward to another, in five countries, across three continents.
Courage is a man who sat at her hospital bedside in Vancouver for months.
Courage is a man who pushed his wife in a wheelchair around Stanley Park every day, for months, until she learned to walk again.
Courage, with incredible patience, is a man who became an unpaid caregiver for a spouse with debilitating disabilities for two years.
Courage is a man who finds organic, fresh food; prepares and serves it with love, eager to help his partner get healthy again, doing every single thing for two, by himself, in a new city, in a new country.
Courage is truly a man who always vacuums with cheer.
Courage is a man who changed careers and countries again to support his wife.
Courage is a man who took a low-wage job — and stayed at it for four years — just to ensure her health care.
Courage is a man who did not complain about any of this.
Not once.
And courage is the man who, years later, is asked about a photo showing him carrying his severely wounded wife after that Afghanistan attack.
What’s that on your head? I asked, seeing the photo for the first time.
That’s you, he replied. That’s the rest of you.
At Thanksgiving and always, Hadi, I am grateful for your love.
Julie Wright said:
Blessings to you and Hadi! What a beautiful tribute! Amazing, just amazing.
Kathleen said:
And blessings to you on Thanksgiving. Thanks for taking time on this day of giving thanks to read my gratitude blog.
David Maidman said:
Looking forward to meeting him someday
Grace Grant said:
If you ask my sister how she survived not one dance with death but five (but who was counting), she will will tell you that she stayed alive for Hadi. That she would not, could not leave him. It was not for the love of the woman who bore her or for the family that worships the ground she walks on but for the love of her husband. Hadi and I have not always agreed on everything. I am the one who was wrong, who did not understand the depths of their love. I did not understand Hadi, he was so completely different from any man I had ever met, I admit prejudice. Not of ethnicity but of sexism. How very shallow of me. Hadi has been an unsung hero for long enough. Hadi, I am so extremely thankful you are in our family. I am so extremely thankful that Kathleen has such a phenomenal husband. Happy Thanksgiving Hadi, thank you for being you.
Kathleen said:
namaste ♥
Barbara Jean said:
Hadi is my hero because he is a man of great strength, intelligence, integrity, and loyalty. He is a true renaissance man. A man who speaks several languages, is a great cook, and sees beauty through the lens of a camera, which he shares with others. The Hoover/Wind family is thankful that he is in our lives.
Kathleen said:
And we’re thankful that you’re thankful!
And for Ron, the other renaissance man in the family … Thank you, thank you.
bgilday said:
A heck of a lot more man than the one who fell asleep in the pre-marital meeting. 🙂
So happy you too have made it through those dark, terrifying, painful days. Love and Happy Thanksgiving to both of you.
Barbara
And hi to you, Jean, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Kathleen said:
It’s true Hadi fell asleep at our pre-marital meeting with the minister … good thing you still married us! It was just jet lag, not a lack of commitment.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too, and to your family.
Paula said:
Just beautiful. Every bit.
Kathleen said:
thank you.
Wayne and Judy Bayliff said:
What a super tribute and expression of your story. Having met Hadi, we can understand your dedication. You are both unique and wonderful people. We are glad to be your friends.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wayne and Judy
tripsfor2 said:
Happy Thanksgiving to two super people too. We’re glad to be your friends too.
Pat Brennan said:
You’re a lucky girl KK to have such a courageous guy in your life. And Hadi is lucky too.
tripsfor2 said:
Thanks, Pat. We’re lucky to have such wonderful friends too.
Tina said:
Dearest Kathleen, What a beautiful and moving tribute to your “oh so courageous” Hadi! How wonderful to have that kind of deep trust and commitment, to have someone to believe in, and to be willing to live and die for. Wow! May you only know joy and good health together from here on out, oh yea, and a little prosperity wouldn’t hurt! lol
Hugs to you both! .
tripsfor2 said:
We are humbled by your praise, Tina. Thank you.
Doug said:
Thanks for sharing this about Hadi. I don’t think anything that I could possibly
write in this little box could convey what I have learned about this finest of human beings.
tripsfor2 said:
From one fine man to another … thanks, Doug, for sharing my appreciation of Hadi.
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Paula-Lynn said:
I’m gonna need to stop reading your blogs, they make me cry every single time. I’m thankful for the man in your life that makes you so happy, and that did, and stood by with you through all of the above. Love you both more then anything <3.
Kathleen said:
I’m gonna stop writing sad stuff then. Back to all-happy-gratitude-all-the-time! Thanks for reading, and sniffling.
Breeze said:
I am so thankful that you guys have each other and make one another so happy!
tripsfor2 said:
And we’re so thankful and happy to have you in our lives. We are truly blessed.
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