Seeing and Learning From One Another With Respect

I wrote this reflection in August, 2024 while recovering from a blocked small intestine in Christ Hospital. "I had an absolutely fascinating conversation with Ms. Vicky Hill, the woman who cleans the rooms at Christ Hospital. It was about 4 AM. It would have been so easy for me to just say “hi” and see her leave with her mop. That is what I did many times before. I didn’t this time. Our conversation lasted 45 minutes. I asked her if I was holding up her work. She told me not to worry. She worked fast, she said. Our conversation was filled with down-home wisdom and affirmation of so much I believe in. She has worked with Christ Hospital for 39 years, matching my tenure at Procter & Gamble. I asked her how she liked it. “I love it,” she said. Her reason for doing so was no surprise. She finds it home. She lives to make a positive difference in people’s lives every day, in every room, she told me. We talked about the importance of simply seeing each other. Recognizing one another’s presence. One has to be invited to do that. I invited her; she quickly invited me. We asked each other questions. I wanted to know about the impact of racism. Her attitude to life is wonderfully simple. “People can have their attitudes, their opinions; I’ve got mine and I’m going to do what I want to do.” She says all this with the happiest of faces and warmest of hearts. learned a great deal from Vicki. Just as I’ve learned so much from the nurses and PCAs while I’ve been in the hospital this time and in the many times before. I’m reinforced by them: their good will and warm mental state. I’m struck by how hard they work to get through school. I’ve met so many wonderful individuals: Ebony and Heather, and Tiffany and Julia. It’s an inspiring environment. They talked about the “smell of the place” in the same way I talk about the smell of the place in other organizations. It’s remarkable how similarly we see life and what makes life good and worthwhile. No one wants to be in the hospital; certainly not I. I’m dealing with some critical issues that aren’t going to go away when I leave here. How to maintain a balance between my intestine that works and a diet that is nutritious. How long am I going to have to irrigate my catheter? Will the pain in my groin subside and how do I control it? I think it was Wolfgang Berndt who said, “Getting old is not for sissies.” I have marveled how lucky I am to be doing it with my family surrounding me and the knowledge that Francie is as well as we could possibly hope, and friends and people praying for me. I am so fortunate. Yesterday, I heard a beautiful sermon from Rev. Wolfe. He titled it, “The Unexpected: The Support Jesus Could give us if we were Open to it and Prayed for it.” I can’t imagine anything more timelythan that right now for me.