Night At The Big Hospital
Last night I spent my first volunteer shift as the overnight chaplain at the bigger, county hospital! Here are the events as they unfolded! My first page occurred while I was still in the Spiritual Care office.
I went to visit a gentleman who had an anyrism and was in intensive care. He was also an incarcerated man and under heavy guard while he waited out his pain. We'll call him "Shell Shock" for the sake of telling his story while maintaining his anonymity. Shell Shock told an incredible story of pain, beginning when his grandmother shot her lover. Later on, his father shot him and his sister with that same gun. Luckily, he survived two gunshot wounds. He told me of the two burglaries and an incredible row with his girlfriend that ended up with his three strikes against him to land him in jail. He was recovering from depression after the death of one of his sons and writing an inspirational book. He wanted to call his other son, but was concerned that hospital staff was blowing him off because of his prisoner status. I advocated on his behalf and called a few agencies within the hospital that will hopefully help him contact his family and feel respected.
Later on, while I was lost in the hospital looking for the sleep room, I was paged to the psych ward and gave a regular print Bible to a patient until such time as we can locate a large print one for him. After that, I fell into bed and slept like a baby, awaking to the slamming doors of doctors waking up to go home from their own morning shifts. Now, if I only hadn't kept the keys in my pocket when I left, I could have stayed home after I left! A few scenic drives later, I've got the whole day ahead of me!