Three days before our dream anniversary trip to the Maldives, I had a stroke. While I was lying in the hospital, my husband, Jeff, called from the airport. He told me postponing the trip was too expensive and he offered it to his brother. That call shattered me.It all happened so fast—one moment I was chopping bell peppers, the next I was on the floor with a numb body and slurred speech. Jeff rushed me to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with a stroke.

As I lay there, I tried to stay hopeful, focusing on the Maldives trip we’d been planning for a year.But when Jeff called a few days later, his priority was clear: the trip would go on without me. He was at the airport, leaving me behind for a vacation with his brother. I felt betrayed. After 25 years of supporting him, now that I needed him, he chose a tropical vacation over my hospital bed.