Creating bridges to understanding
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Gerardo James de Jesus is an administrative patient representative at LLUMC, a doctoral candidate in the area of theology and personality, and a pastoral psychotherapist in private practice. |
Freddy Gutierrez is admitted to our emergency department. His medical situation grave, he requires emergency surgery.
Freddy comes to us with a physical problem: A bullet must be removed from his brain. His family and friends will come to us with questions and concerns; how will this affect them socially, spiritually?
Anxiety levels heighten as they await his prognosis following surgery. Because Freddy's situation is under investigation by law enforcement, he's provided an alias name to protect his right to privacy and those who might cause further harm.
Hours pass and phone calls to the operating room ensue. Delays create more anxiety and frustration. No answers. Finally, the doctor meets the family at the lobby and tells them the bullet lodged in his brain was removed, but permanent damage seems likely. The family is stunned. Shocked. They can't understand why we can't fix him! Isn't this the best hospital in the world? they question. A family suffering from hopelessness is about to be born.
11:00 a.m.--Freddy is taken to the intensive care unit. The sign outside the door reads "Visitation from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m." Freddy's cousins show up, dressed in attire that raises "red flags" to the staff. Nevertheless, they have the appropriate "alias name." The problem is that it's still early, and they wish to see Freddy. The secretary is overwhelmed with matters related to working in this kind of setting and tells Freddy's cousins they cannot see him.
One relative stoops over and notices a Caucasian family with a loved one in a room. He protests, "Why is that other family in there?" The secretary is short, and tells them they must wait in the waiting room. She never answers their question. A confrontation of words ensues, and the guard requests they leave the premises. Threatened, the cousins storm out and one says, "They always treat Latinos this way!" The family feels slighted, and alienated. My phone rings.
As an administrative patient representative, my aim is to provide avenues of reconciliation and contribute to the ministry of wholeness. By restoring persons to God's intention of what we are to be, renewing those who cling to fear as a way of coping, and reconciling misunderstandings that come to us through a variety of ways, wholeness can become both a social and spiritual reality. I sit down with both sides--staff and family--educating and listening to both. Each feels validated.
The secretary appreciates knowing certain clothing is not indicative of membership in a gang, rather, what the young men choose to wear. The Gutierrez family appreciates knowing the Caucasian family was let in only because their family member was dying. Having received thorough explanations to their questions, they feel validated and cared for. We contribute to the mission of making humanity whole by taking seriously the presence of Christ in physical, social, and spiritual situations. In these critical moments that demand our attention, we must strive to understand the perceptions and experiences of those we minister to.
Often, we become the only vehicle that bridges what feels like loss, despair, misunderstanding, and restlessness, with compassion, renewal, and rest. We do so by understanding that we work as a team of healers who are both professional and spiritual. We all constitute the eyes, ears, hands, feet, and mouth of Him who said, "Come unto Me all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
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Revised
Monday, January 8, 2001 8:40 AM
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