Filling a Need

roses in my garden; Jack and Pauline's house in the background

I could hear a sob in the voice of my neighbor, Pauline, when she called me yesterday evening. Her husband Jack has been suffering for several years with severe emphysema, and most recently colon cancer. The doctors said that his lungs would take him before the cancer did.

I hung up the phone and dashed through the backyard to enter the house. Jack's breathing had slowed, and a rattle could be heard when he did take a breath. His skin had grown cold. Pauline stood beside his chair, wringing her hands. I held Jack's hand, and asked Pauline to get a blanket as I could visibly see the goosebumps on Jack's chest and arms. As she left the room, I knelt beside him, and whispered, "It's okay, Jack. You can go and be with the Lord." He took one more shallow breath, and immediately exhaled.

As Pauline reentered the room, she looked at him, and then to me and said, "He's gone, isn't he?" And he was. We searched for a pulse, and listened for a heartbeat with a stethoscope. There were none. I hugged Pauline, and we covered him with the quilt she had retrieved, tucking it carefully under his chin as if to put him to bed. And then we waited. For the family that she had called before calling me. For the hospice nurse.

It was a bit surreal as the family trickled in, and the nurse arrived. I informed the nurse of how Jack had passed since Pauline was understandably shaken. I stayed long enough to make sure that Pauline was taken care of, and then headed back home. As I walked back through the yard, Verne emerged from the house. I told him that Jack had passed. As only the girls were home, we gathered them up, and went back to Jack and Pauline's. Pauline was glad to see Verne and the girls. She hugged them each tight.

I walked through the yard again this afternoon to check on Pauline. She showed me the clothes that she had picked out for Jack's burial. She shared pictures with me of their early marriage. She was happy to have someone to talk to. I was happy to be that someone.

Last night I had the privilege of holding the hand of a dear elderly man while he passed from this world into the next. It's something I'll never forget.