When Carrie Jakubowski woke up from her hysterectomy, she wasn\u2019t expecting to be greeted by over 100 messages from her husband, Paul.<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old teacher told PEOPLE that her first sensation upon waking was relief. \u201cI felt lighter, no pain, no panic,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Her surgeon checked in briefly, confirming that the surgery went well and explaining why she had been in so much pain. After about an hour in the recovery area, Carrie was moved to a discharge room, where she fell asleep again\u2014only to wake up to her husband right by her side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI burst into tears with maybe every emotion at once,\u201d she recalls. \u201cHe looked like he had been through it too, so I kept reassuring him that I was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the way home, Carrie finally asked for her phone\u2014and discovered nearly 170 new messages. Over 100 of them were from Paul, each filled with encouragement, love, and little updates that helped ease her anxiety.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t just the quantity of texts that amazed her, but also their content. Paul had taken her beloved Paddington Bear on a daylong adventure\u2014visiting a diner, a local museum, and more\u2014snapping photos and sending messages so Carrie would wake up to something playful and heartwarming.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaul is naturally sweet and silly,\u201d Carrie says. \u201cWhat started as a way to cheer me up also kept him grounded when he was nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shared a video of the texts on TikTok, captioned: \u201cA drag path but it\u2019s 115 texts from my husband taking my stuffed Paddington bear around town while I had my hysterectomy so I had something silly to wake up to.\u201d The response, she says, has been overwhelming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people see this as a silly but deeply devoted display of love,\u201d Carrie explains. \u201cIt\u2019s proof that the person you care about is thinking of you. It reminds people it\u2019s okay to want that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrie met Paul on a dating app in 2021, when she was a newly divorced mom. They quickly fell in love and married in December 2023. She praises him for being a \u201cnatural bonus father figure\u201d for her daughter and for consistently showing that he chooses their family every day.<\/p>\n
Two weeks after the surgery, Paul continues to support her recovery. \u201cI\u2019m a type A personality, so having Paul remind me to slow down and let him care for me has been its own journey,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk about men stepping up for their partners, but not as much about women learning to trust them enough to do it. It\u2019s its own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"