Standing in the hall outside the patient’s room at the long-term care facility, I heard her pleading: “Could someone help?” “Can I get someone for you?” I asked, poking my head in her door. “Oh yes, thank you,” she said before looking at me, as if my voice itself were that of an angel. I returned …
Like ancient Greeks at the Oracle of Delphi, many people wait, anticipating something prophetic from their loved one’s last words. Maybe it’s a revelation into the eternal, a release from guilt, or the secret to peace from life’s fray that people hope to hear. On rare occasions, it happens, as it did for those gathered …
“Lament: /ləˈment/ a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.” —dictionary.com “Isn’t it horrible,” two residents chime in unison at the long-term care facility where I make a pastoral visit. They point to the television, tuned to the news of the Texas school massacre. I had stepped into their room after walking down the hall, having prayed with …
We plan for lunch meetings with colleagues, appointments with physicians, getaways with loved ones, and portfolio reviews with financial advisors. But the exact date of our exit plan from this place is still a mystery that eludes us. Unless death pounces suddenly—as it sometimes does, like a panther catching its prey—we might see it coming, …
As my brother struggles to speak, I listen closely, trying to understand his words without requiring him to expend his energy repeating them. Lowell has been at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center for over a week now. His nineteen-year battle, first with lymphoma and now with advanced Merkle cell carcinoma, has ended here. The white flag …