By John Carroll Lynch

H ospital nurses thought that the 73-yearold James Wathen had reached the end of his road.He stopped eating,he could hardly speak,and he was very weak.But those all changed one day when he told a nurse that he missed his dog.Jameshadn’tseen hisone-eyed Chihuahua named Bubba after he was sent to the hospital weeks before.

So a wonderful team of nurses got together to find James’companion,Bubba.They all held on the hope that this reunion would make their patient come alive again.

They successfully found Bubba,but ever since Bubba was separated from James,he also became sick.The dog didn’t know where James was,and believe it or not,they both stopped eating at about the same time.The team of nurses worked hard and scheduled a very special visitor for James that weekend.

In their 30-minute visit,Bubba’s eyes got real bright and he was like a different dog.James also became very bright,and he was a different man,too.“He has done a complete turnaround.He is speaking,he is sitting up,and he is eating.He wasn’t like the same guy.” a nurse said.“And the dog is eating and doing better now,too.”

From James and Bubba’s story we can see that our friendships are more important than we can ever imagine.Your smiling face can bring life to a friend that’s feeling down.So never forget that you are an important part of someone’s life.Someone needs you today.