"As a hospice chaplain I have a sacred trust placed upon me. By connecting a patient to their faith community, listening to their spiritual needs and responding according to their faith tradition, a chaplain can foster comfort and especially, help dispel fear."
~ Joe McNett
by Joe McNett, Hospice of Palm Beach County Chaplain
Those who work on the clinical side of hospice come into contact with hundreds of patients each year, not to mention their family members. Whereas all our patients receive our best care, there are certain ones we seem to grow attached to a little more than the others. It may be they remind us of someone we knew or quite possible it's our compassion for their extremely difficult circumstances. Pedro was one of those patients.
As best we can tell, he emigrated from Puerto Rico and worked with a landscaping company for years. Although he was a hard worker, his physical condition began taking its toll.
Pedro came to us from a rundown trailer he was renting by himself and immediately began winning our hearts. He had a tracheotomy which prevented most verbal communication. However, Pedro would communicate with hand gestures and facial expressions that would put a veteran charades player to shame. Despite his slow decline and physical difficulties, Pedro was constantly roaming the halls and taking walks outside, which brought him into contact with almost all of the inpatient staff over the months. The one thing we could always count on was a smile or salute from him. Even when he was hurting, he still shared that smile.
As our social workers began working on his case, they were especially vexed as to his real name and identity. They found that he had assumed another name in order to survive in the states and had paid his taxes under it for over a decade. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts we were never really able to find out who he was. Pedro's memory was ravaged and he could only recall random bits and pieces. Even the name he said was his own had no corroborating evidence. Additionally, there were no family or friends to care for him, visit, or even claim him when he died.
That is the main reason for my writing this account. Pedro had no one. He spent months in our inpatient unit and we ended up feeling like his family. We cared for him and loved him. Pedro passed away just before midnight on a Tuesday evening. Although there was no one to claim him then... we do now.
This letter is a humble eulogy, not as much for his accomplishments, but more about who he was and what he meant to us. Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation has graciously donated a memorial brick in memory of Pedro. Many of the staff will be contributing money towards it, despite the gift, and will be gathering for a memorial service in memory of Pedro. Furthermore, all the inpatient staff will be signing their names on the bottom and sides to symbolize the care and support for our friend. The brick will be placed outside on the sidewalk that he traveled so much, enjoying the outdoors while he was with us.So this letter and the memorial brick are a lasting remembrance for our friend, Pedro. He will always be in our hearts. Moreover, he is an example of so many other patients who need someone to care for them at the end of life.
