Today I talked with a sister who has worked for a long time at a nursing home. This specific story is about a man who came in after a stroke, was trained up and returned home. But he came back after a second stroke within a year and the countdown had begun. After the first incident she had worked with the man and helped him with training. After the second incident when he returned he had lost his speech and was laying in his bed with closed eyes. She was told by the other staff members that it was no meaning to talk with the man, to just do the job without any conversation, and leave the room, since he could not speak any more. How sad!

My sister remembered this man from the first incident and the conversation they had where the man had revealed that he was a spiritual man, but not sure what he believed in. So she walked into his room, took his hand and told the dying man who she was and her name. The man had his eyes closed. She asked him: “If you can hear me, squeeze my hand” and the man responded with squeezing her hand. When she asked the man if he wanted a priest to come and give him communion, the man squeezed her hand. She asked again if this was his will and to squeeze again as a confirmation and the man did so.

She went into the office to call a priest but was disrupted because her phone rang. It was a priest on the phone! He asked if he could come to speak with another patient. My sister told about the man who wanted to be visited by a priest and to receive communion. Within half an hour the priest had come and gave communion to the patient and someone even came and sang a psalm. After the communion when the priest walked out of the room the patient breathed his last breath and his spirit left.

I believe many nurses and caretakers have still much to learn how to show respect to the speechless dying patients. I have heard that the last ability to leave is the ability of hearing. So don’t believe they don’t hear you or they are brain dead. That is not always true.

I really wish more people became aware of how to give spiritual guidance to dying patients like my sister did. There are people who are not even familiar how to pray to God and have limited spiritual knowledge what to say or how to act in such situations. When your speech is gone you need someone to speak for you and you need comfort and a hand to hold.

I received once a word about a man who was sick, to serve him: “that he would not understand with his mind but he would understand with his heart”. So again it is all about the condition of the heart!

John 11:
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

MercyMe – I Can Only Imagine (Official Music Video)

Thank you Lord for the resurrection day. Help us to speak with our heart when the words are silent.