A hug to remember
Nurse Lauren Garfield distinctly remembers the first time she heard Jason’s story. She was listening to the on-call nurse’s report and heard about a new admit. Listening to the patient’s story made her cringe and for some reason, she knew this patient would be her responsibility. She learned that Jason would be her patient and as a new registered nurse case manager, she felt completely inadequate.
As Lauren and her vocational nurse, Lisa, reviewed Jason’s file, they learned that his pain was out of control due to cancer. He was 35 years old with a 31-year-old wife and was only expected to live a few weeks.
The End Is Not Death
Written by Mike Shreve, Chaplain for Texas Hospice
This passage is speaking of a man named Lazarus who was dead for four days and the family was greatly distressed in grief over their loss. Mary and Martha are the sisters of Lazarus and believe in the healing power of Jesus. They plead for Him to come to raise the one in whom He loves, Lazarus. Jesus however, takes his time for the purpose of bringing greater glory to God. The longer Lazarus is in the grave, the greater the magnification of the hand of God at work in raising Lazarus from the grave.
“Go!!!! God!!!!”
Written by Mike Shreve, Chaplain for Texas Hospice
I recently spoke with one of our caregivers that I have been extremely concerned about. She is in her late seventies and is taking care of her mother who is in her nineties and under our services, but she also has the added responsibility for the care of her husband that is a recent amputee. Under all the stress and turmoil that her life is under she displays one of the most beautiful smiles.
The Freedom to Grieve
Written by Mike Shreve, Chaplain for Texas Hospice
As a Hospice Chaplain for Texas Hospice, I have the honor to meet families in the most fragile of moments. Each patient's situation comes with its own nuances. The common theme of all the patient family dynamics is that grief is eminent, the way in which each individual and family handles the grief takes a variety of forms.
