Healing Stories from Our Staff

This is a community of care, from housekeepers to clinicians, from Massachusetts to Ecuador.

At the bedside

“I was visiting a patient and noticed that the elderly patient in the bed next to us was having a difficult time. Out of nowhere, a housekeeper appeared and approached the patient with a quiet smile and a gentle pat on the hand. I watched in awe as a smile came across both of their faces and a peace seemed to enter into the room.”

In the ICU

“An elderly gentleman was trying to say good-bye to his wife of 65 years, who died that day in our ICU. He could not bring himself to leave his wife for the last time. I asked a family member for pictures of his grandchildren. We sat and I asked him to share a story about the time he and his wife first saw each child — he cried and shared the story of the joy they found in each newborn child. After the last story, he was ready to go home. He said, ‘I can go home now. Beforem all I saw was emptiness for my future. I know I will miss her everyday of my life, but I now know I also have good memories to hold onto.’ “

After discharge

“A few days before Christmas a Cape Verdean Creole couple had their third child. The mother and father left the hospital with children and grandmother in tow to take up temporary residence in a hotel room. Their own home had been condemned due to water and sewer damage. Moved by this story the staff organized a gift and clothing drive for them. A week later the staff trekked through a snowstorm to bring this family the gifts of clothing, money and good wishes from the staff who had met them so briefly a few weeks before.”

From abroad

Mission Possible: The Bridge by Sister Marie Puleo

“During my recent visit to our Por Cristo ministries in Ecuador, a young woman invited us to her home, a small wooden structure built on stilts at the end of a very narrow bridge. With a little hesitation I accepted her invitation and stepped out onto the bridge. After a few steps I realized that every step I took caused the bridge to sway and there was nothing to hold onto. Afraid to go forward and afraid to turn around, I remembered her humble invitation, looked up and saw that she had already crossed the bridge and was waiting for me at the entrance to her home. I summoned all of my inner resources and started forward toward my new friend, the bridge swaying with every step I took. As I stepped into the house, with no running water and no electricity, she beamed with pride.

“The word bridge can be defined as ‘something that serves as a connection.’ As I reflect on my experience that day in the barrio of Isla Trinitriá, that bridge served as a profound connector for me. I entered a world that I had only read about. In the midst of extreme poverty Por Cristo serves as a beacon of hope. Because of our clinic in Isla Trinitá, pregnant women receive prenatal care. Their children are seen regularly and thrive. Because of our collaboration with the pediatric specialists in Quito, children with heart defects are treated at an early age. Our core values extend beyond the boundaries of our country. Our mission is alive in Massachusetts and in Ecuador. Robert Brown, Administrator of Norwood Hospital in the 1940s, wrote: ‘Within our walls all are equal. We know neither wealth nor poverty, favor nor bias. We know one thing, loving-kindness. We have one creed, service for all.’”