(Archives from residency journal)
“I’m so tired,” my husband says. Meanwhile, I’m post-call and have been awake for 30 hours straight. I’ve admitted five patients, pronounced two, coded one, and kept another 16 alive.
The fatigue I feel encompasses me, overwhelms me.
But the fatigue I feel does not invalidate his. He is tired too.
My long days are hard for him, too. He works overtime in my absence. He cares for our child, he cares for our home. He keeps things functioning while I'm away.
Devaluing his fatigue only erodes love.
Exhaustion is not a competition.