I had been around ICU quite a lot and had picked up that there was a woman who was quite seriously ill. She was being ventilated but was awake. I would often wave to her as I went past. On one particular day the staff stopped me and told me that she had just been told there was nothing further that could be done for her. They said she was really fragile and could I see if there was anything I could do.
I went and introduced myself and said that staff had told me she had had some bad news and I was wondering if she wanted to talk. She indicated she did. Communication was difficult due to her ventilation and so I had to lip read. At times I found it very frustrating that I couldn’t understand her. She told me she wasn’t religious but she was spiritual. She had been told that there was no further surgery that could be done and she would likely die very soon. She was really scared. I asked her if she wanted me to anoint her. She asked what that was and then said she wanted something but maybe not that. I said I’d go away and create something and come back to her.
I came back a few hours later with an Iona liturgy that I adapted. She took great comfort from it and seemed more peaceful afterwards. I continued to visit this woman and much to everyone’s amazement she began to improve and was eventually moved to a ward. I carried on visiting her over the year that she was an inpatient. She went through a really down time where she became quite depressed. She was staring at a blank wall so I decided to turn it into a positivity wall. I used to do her a thought for the week, which was a short quote. These gradually filled the wall and became a strong talking point amongst her visitors and the staff. In fact staff liked it so much that I used to pin one up on the notice board outside the chapel. Eventually the woman went to a more specialist hospital. By then she was more positive about her future and how she was going to cope.
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