Dear Emily,
You probably don't remember meeting me, but my 92-year-old Dad was admitted to ICU at EC on Monday. We were told he probably would not last through the night. On Tuesday afternoon I was still sitting with Dad and you came in and introduced yourself. You told me that Dad seemed stronger than originally thought and you wanted to send Hospice in to talk with me about moving him to the Hospice facility.
After we talked a few minutes, you obviously realized how upset I was, looked on the bed and saw my bible and my Methodist Hymnal that I had been using to sing to Dad. You said, "Are you Methodist?", and I told you I was. You immediately replied, "I want to give you a gift if that's OK and I'll be back in a minute". Shortly you returned carrying a beautiful blue prayer shawl. You shared with me about the Prayer Shawl Ministry. You left saying you would be back with Hospice on Wednesday morning.
Dad passed away early Wednesday morning, so our paths never crossed again. You will never know how much your visit and kindness meant to me. What a beautiful, special gift the Prayer Shawl is for me to remember my last hours with Dad.
Our family had talked on Tuesday evening and agreed to move Dad, but I did not feel like he would survive another move. Dad's CNA sitter had told me she would be there to stay with me on Tuesday night and when she arrived around 10:00 pm she opened my bible to Psalm 23 and placed it beside Dad's pillow. Dad finished his journey on earth very peacefully on Wednesday morning around 4:00 am.