A Patient’s Last Wish

By |Published On: January 21, 2018|Categories: News|

A Patient's Last Wish

Not long ago, I came upon a precious story on Facebook that was so moving, I just had to share it! It starts with two paramedics transporting a palliative care patient to a local hospital. The dying woman shared that — years ago, prior to her illness — she had lived by the ocean, and had always felt such peace hearing the waves. That gave the paramedics an idea! They made a quick detour to a local beach, pulled her out of the ambulance on her gurney, and sat her up, facing the waves. One paramedic even filled a bag with water so that this dear woman could dip her hand into it and feel the ocean one last time. Wow!

These paramedics were just doing their job; they weren’t obliged to honor her request — but they did so out of ordinary human kindness. Much like the human touch expressed in Hosea 11:4, “[God] led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.” In the eyes of those paramedics, that woman was more than just a patient; she was a person — a person with dreams and hopes and hardships just like anyone else. Friend, it just goes to show how sweetly God sometimes writes his law on the hearts of people — people who may not even be Christ-followers. Because we are all image-bearers of a God who is, indeed, kind. And it is because we are created in His image, that every person — whether able or disabled, weak or strong, young or old — is deserving of dignity and respect; every life is precious. So, on this Sanctity of Life Sunday, let’s uphold what it means to be “wonderfully and fearfully made” by extending kindness and respect to the medically frail and the unborn; to the least of the least and the vulnerable — to people.

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