“He didn’t have to stick with me all these years dealing with cancer,” Maria Gonzales says of her incredible husband, Greg. Through the ups and downs, surgeries and infusions, laughter and tears, the two have been by each other’s sides — and the strength of their bond has made all the difference.
“I didn’t like not being there,” says Greg. “People would be like ‘Oh, go home, you need your rest,’ and I would say, ‘No. This is my wife. I’m staying here. I know how to take care of her. I know what to look for.'”
Greg knows exactly what to pack when Gonzales needs to be admitted to the hospital. He knows which medicines work and which ones don’t. Most, importantly, though, he knows what makes his wife smile.
“It’s not something you want to be good at,” Greg says of being a caretaker. “But I’ve gotten good at it. I have.”
Greg accepts Maria’s cancer diagnosis as a part of who she is. “We all get thrown curveballs in life,” he says. “It’s those moments that define you… that show you the kind of person that you are.”
The only times Greg truly worries are the times when he is unable to take care of his wife. And in the end, the only reward he hopes for is his wife’s smile.
“That smile she has… that’s reward enough.”
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