Build-a-Bears to Hold Our Love
Jeff was a 41-year-old man with liver failure who was barely hanging on the transplant list. He lived at an assisted living facility called “Side by Side”. I was a 24-year-old girl dying from a rare neurological disease. Since December 2015, I had been living at Side by Side as well. We both adored Build-a-Bears. Jeff and I were an unlikely romance but we were both desperately in love with each other
Originally I thought that Jeff and I were just best friends. Due to a physical and developmental delay that according to my doctors
“Seems to be a much less dramatic form of Syndrome X, it’s an extremely rare condition that I can’t figure out whether or not is connected to her autoimmune-mediated autonomic SFN.”
I didn’t produce adult hormones and I didn’t age past the preteen stage, the only times I’d ever fallen in love with before were with my Build-a-Bears. However the night before, I’d had a talk with Melody, my main PCA (caregiver). She helped me discover that my feelings were more than just friendship.
