that thanksgiving

Nobody likes to go to work on a holiday and here I found myself at work on Thanksgiving night. I was grumpy and didn't feel good as I had over eaten turkey, dressing, both sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes...... I receive my assignment and begin the night with the "make it through the shift" attitude, after all I've got shopping to do in the morning!

One of my patients was an emaciated and deformed cancer patient in his mid 50's, throat cancer had literally eaten away at his face and neck. He was unable to eat and had a feeding tube. He was in a huge amount of pain and general discomfort. I spent a few minutes with him and his wife describing my plan for keeping him comfortable through my shift and later met with his wife at the nurses station where she begged me to do my very best for him. We were a new hospital to him so this gave him another reason to be uncomfortable. She left with me promising some extra TLC and that I would call her if anything changed.

Off and on through the evening I was in his room for assessments, pain meds, tube feeding, etc. He said very little and appeared very withdrawn. As I prepared yet another round of pain medication I had a sudden realization....I know this man! I looked at his name on the computer screen and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my dad used to work with him, OVER 25 YEARS BEFORE!!! So many questions are running through my head: How in the world could I remember him; there's no way he would remember my dad; he would look at me like I was a crazy person if I were to tell him this....a fellow nurse is standing there as I process this and she insists that I say something to him! Here goes.....

(Did I tell you this is the middle of the night??)...

I walk in and say something like, "ahem...um, I, um, don't know how to, um, say this,I um but I, um, think I know you, um. ". I know you are all thinking that I sound like an idiot....that's pretty much how I felt! My patient begins to tear up and says, "You're Andrea HUNT! Your Dad is Paul, you have a ton of brothers...!" He sits up (which he hadn't done all night), there's a sparkle in his eyes...he knew exactly who I was! We talked for what seemed like forever, I eventually got around to giving him his meds. He asked me to call my dad. As I've already said it was a holiday so at this time my dad was still sound asleep so I promised I would call that morning. He settles back into bed begging me to promise to call dad as early as possible!

I rush to get off the clock and out the door the next morning because I'm already running really late for black Friday sales, I get to my car and I have a flat tire! Ok, deep breath, I can change my tire, no biggie! Problem was I couldn't get the lug nuts off, hospital maintenance actually BROKE my lug wrench when attempting to get them loose. So I make the embarrassing call to my dad and drag him out of bed but at least I got to share my great news!! He and Abe come down and get me up and running, make that rolling! As I'm pulling out of the parking lot he and Abe go in to see this old friend.

I'm sure that by this time the cancer has taken its course and that my patient has lost his battle. But that night was so very sweet. My dad was able to visit with him and to continue to share the gospel with him, my grandparents also came by as Grandpa had also worked with him.

I know it was God who had directed me to this man. There is no humanly way that I could remember a man I had only known as a small child let alone recognize with his distorted features but God used me, once again, to make a difference in this mans stay and I can only trust and believe that both my Grandpa's and Dad's testimony challenged him to surrender his life to Christ.