January 2010

The Miracle of Living in the Shadow of Death

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” Psalm 23:4 KJV
 

Iheard it said that healthcare professionals, whether chaplain, doctor, nurse, social-worker, are students and the patient is the living human document. The last week of residency I felt a keen sense of responsibility to be present at a memorial service conducted by the Staff Chaplain of the pediatrics’ department. The service was for two children, who weren’t my patients. My attending the service taught me the concept that patients are our living document.

Children who suffer with long term illnesses live in a world where they continually face their mortality. Their stories indicate how brave and how much we as healthcare professionals learn from them by just being in their company. They become teachers of life--- living in the shadows of death. Most of them are fearless when it comes to standing in the shadows of death and they truly seem not to fear the evils of the world, but look for the goodness that surrounds them.

During the service I found myself crying over the lost of these remarkable children whom I’d never had the pleasure of meeting. Their ashes spoke to me as others recapped their relationships with these special angels who transformed the lives of the medical team. We were supposed to make them whole, but instead they taught us that wholeness is a state of mind not just healthy bodies.

What determines a full life? This is the question that was answered for me that day. The answer is--- people who transform others with the grace of love, joy, peace, and longsuffering without a mumbling word. What miracles!

Blessings,

Chap