And more importantly....(Partners)

Today, my wife and I have been married for 2 years.
They have not been an easy 2 years, but I think it says good things about the state of things that we have managed to struggle and stay on the same page. And I really believe that we've decided on a path that will work out for the both of us. And in some ways, we're just really, really lucky.
I really could not ask for a better partner.
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And now a story.
About a month ago, I caught a monster cold. Sore throat, runny nose, stuffy head. The works. I am one who is loathe to go to the doctor unless I need to. So, I fought the cold with Nyquil, vitamin C and will power. Which turns out to be a stupid way to fight a monster cold. It wore on for a couple weeks. Some days I really felt that I had turned the corner and others, not so much.
By the end of the two weeks, something weird happened. I got a sore at the base of my tongue where the muscle meets the bottom of my mouth. And I found it really hard to swallow. And it got worse. One Friday, I finally determined I should let a professional handle this. So, I called the doctor. My wife, asked if I wanted her to stay home, and I pathetically said, "yes please."
So, she fixed me some scrambled eggs, which, after setting up an appointment with the doctor, I tried to eat. I say tried, because it turns out that I had let the situation go too far and now I couldn't really swallow. Not good.
So, Dinah drives me to the doctor's office, where I meet with the doctor I'd been visiting for the last two years. He's a great guy. Really compassionate. Always willing to answer questions. And a nice man. He looks around in my mouth and determines he can't see anything, so he writes out a referral to a specialist downstairs. And walks me down there to make sure I am seen soon.
Yeah. He walked me down there personally.
And while we were walking down there, he noticed Dinah and asked if she were my partner. And without thinking, I said, "My wife." Which, I don't know if he found it insulting, since he's living in a state that, wrongly, doesn't recognize his relationship formally the way mine is, but I know I was sad and felt stupid for saying it. Especially since he left his office and walked me down to another office, instead of handing me a piece of paper and basically saying, "good luck buddy." Dick move on my part. But, he shakes my hand after he talks to some guy behind a desk and I get the feeling he either gets this all the time and he doesn't take it personally, or he has known me long enough to know I meant no slight. But still, I don't feel good about this moment.
And after waiting half an hour, I am shuttled to a room where an extremely good looking gentleman is brought in. He introduces himself as a "Dr." and I immediately think, "this man is too good looking to be a doctor. He looks like he's straight from Grey's Anatomy or something." I start to think of nicname along the lines of "McDreamy", but only come up with "McWow" before I give up.
After poking around in my mouth, he decides he needs to put a scope in my mouth and look around. This sounds like a good plan to me. I change my mind after he shows me the scope and tells me he has to put it in my nose. The scope is like the one doctors use to look in your ears, but instead there's a long hose that can contort through your nasal cavity and into the back of your mouth. The hose has a light and a camera that allows the doctor to look on a television screen and see what's going on with my mouth.
The nurses, one of whom is training the other, shoot my nose up with some sort of numbing agent and after 5 minutes, we're good to go. Dr. Hot starts feeding the hose into my nose and I can tell I'm probably not numb enough, but I just want to be able to swallow eggs again, so I go with it. While he's in there I can hear Dinah talking to me. I'm sort of in a haze because this feeling is really weird and I start to gag, which I think caused some of the fluid built up in my nose and mouth to get onto the camera. So, he pulls out.
Which causes me to go light-headed and nearly pass out. So, I'm given a rag on my neck and an apple, which I choke down the best I can. They take my blood pressure and I start to do the best I can to take deep breaths and get my shit back together. The doctor leaves the room and the nurses stay to watch me. Dinah holds my hand and tells me it was kind of neat to see the light coming out of my mouth and see down the back of my throat. One nurse asks the other if they should go do something, no doubt trying to appear industrious as she's being trained. The head nurse responds that they have to stay in case "something happens" and I feel it hard to keep myself calm for a second, but after five minutes, we try the left nostril. Yay.
This time goes better, though with about the same results. Ultimately, the most attractive doctor in Chicago decides to put my on a combination of steroids and antibiotics and have me come back the next week to check on things to be sure I'm recovering.
As we leave, Dinah handles the whole insurance issue and the parking validation. She drives me to get my perscriptions filled and as I look at her in the afternoon sun beeming in through the dirty windows of the mini-van, I think back to the moment where I said she was my wife. And I feel horrible. I realize again how lucky I am to have someone who can come into doctor's offices with me and help me and hold my hand, without the slightest bit of question about whether she should be there.
So, I guess today, I know how lucky I am to have found such a capable, amazing, beautiful person to be my partner. But, I am also lucky that the government and society allow us to enjoy the benefits of a committed relationship. And I have at least a glimmer of how unfair it is that others aren't afforded the same opportunity.