‘In Sickness And In Health’ Takes On New Urgency During a Pandemic
Caring for a spouse who becomes sick or disabled can test any marriage, no matter how solid. Is your spouse going to show up?
The traditional wedding vows many of us know and perhaps even said, aren’t all that common nowadays as couples write their own vows that speak more authentically to their desires, but few would argue against including words about caring for each other “in sickness and in health.”
And yet, few of us have lived through a pandemic and now that we’re in the midst of one, how will that impact caring in marriages despite whatever a couple has vowed?
If history offers us any clue, it might make honoring the “in sickness” vow somewhat challenging.
Serious illnesses are problematic for spouses, especially if the wives become ill, according to 2009 study. The researchers observed that women who are diagnosed with cancer or multiple sclerosis are six times more likely to find themselves separated or divorced shortly after their diagnosis than if they were a man — a situation they called “partner abandonment.
They also observed that the older the wife was, the more likely she was headed for a divorce, resulting in serious impacts on her…
