The constant vigilance can really put someone on edge. "When he had just gotten sick, and I stood by his bed thinking back on his past vigor and vitality, it was quite painful," says Yuan Chih-chuang, who has taken care of her ill husband for one third of their 44 years together. For her this was a way to return his thirty years of love.
「剛發病的時候，坐在病床邊看他，我回想過去他生龍活虎的模樣，那實在很痛苦」，四十四年的婚姻生活裡、有三分之一歲月在照顧中風老伴的袁智莊說，前卅年日子，大她十四歲的先生像疼女兒般憐愛她，後面就是她回報的時候。