Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Oops - forgot one thing

I forgot to tell you all about a very touching thing that happened. Yesterday I went and visited a patient whom I have had on service since July. She's an older woman with leukemia. In the beginning she and I didn't really connect, and I later found out she thought I was too young to be of any help to her. Over the weeks and months, we did form a strong connection, and I think I enjoyed our visits as much as she did. I had been visiting her weekly or biweekly, but then with the miscarriage and vacation, I hadn't seen her for about 3 weeks. When I walked into her room yesterday, it was clear to me that she was very near to dying. She was still awake and aware of everything, but was really having difficulty breathing. Her daughter was there visiting her, but left the room for a bit while I was there. When she left the room, my patient asked me why I had been gone for so long, and I was honest with her about the miscarriage. She said she thought something like that had happened and expressed her sorrow. Then she told me that she had been holding on, waiting for me to return before she died. Of course my eyes welled up with tears immediately! I told her what a pleasure it had been knowing her. We talked some more and then my visit ended. I told her that I would visit her again today.

This morning I checked my voicemail and learned that she died early this morning. How powerful is that?! I guess you just never know what an impact you can have on another person. I really felt blessed by this.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That is powerful and so true that we often never realize the impact we have on others. You were blessed to know how you touched this woman. God gave you a special gift that allows you to positively affect/touch the lives of others. Love, Mom

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...