February 24, 2011

Lost and found.

Posted in Uncategorized at 2:05 pm by ribbonofhope

When we have done all that we can to stay in contact with a patient, sometimes we have to take that person off of our active list.  That decision is not taken lightly.  Sometimes a patient is in remission, back to work, and they don’t bother to let us know. Things would be so much simpler if remission were the only reason for losing contact.

A few days ago a patient showed up on the Oncology floor of this hospital. She was not in remission. We lost her because family members would not give her our messages. Our mail was returned. Her phone was cut off.

She drove herself to the hospital. Discouraged and worn out, she wondered if it would matter to anyone if she died. It mattered to God, and soon it mattered to others as well.

Hospital staff and Ribbon of Hope  worked together to protect her place in line for low income housing. Our volunteers helped her pack, and move her few belongings to her new apartment. God provided in unexpected ways so she would have something to eat, and something to eat off of.

She told me that a friend told her that God wouldn’t help her because she wasn’t going to church. (Cancer patients are weakened by treatments, and must avoid public places because their bodies have no resistance to germs.)

But God proved His love and faithfulness to her by surrounding her with Ribbon of Hope and other believers who could show her in tangible ways that she was not forgotten.

“Finally, after so many months, I’m beginning to have hope again,” she said.

That is why we do what we do.

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