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A HEART BEAT AWAY
I didn’t actually realize it at that moment, but my whole life was about to change. It was a typical Friday night and I had ducked out of work a half hour early to get a start on the evenings festivities. I feel like I earned the early out, after all, I am the top producing salesmen in the company, and a real work-aholic. My plan was to run back to the apartment, catch a shower and a few beers and then meet some friends for dinner.
When I got to the house I noticed I had a few messages on the recorder. The first two were from work and I had to call some customers back right away. That little exercise took almost half an hour. So, much for getting out a few minutes early. I was about to listen to the next 2 messages but rather than be late for dinner I decided they could wait until the morning.
Well, dinner and a few drinks ended up being dinner and quite a few drinks. I ended up leaving my car at the restaurant and got a taxi ride home. By the time I woke up on Saturday it was almost noon, and I had one hell of a hangover. To make matters worse, I had to ask a neighbor to drive me back over to get the Vet.
I got back to the house late Saturday after noon and noticed the message machine still blinking. I had forgotten about the two un-played messages from the other night. Both messages were from my friend Tony. He called to remind me that he was leaving on his cruise and asked if I would bring in his mail and newspapers. He sounded excited as hell and I was glad that he was taking some time off. In fact I had suggested he take the cruise as a way to relax and reminded him not to bring his laptop or cell phone. The guy is a type “a” over achiever and a true work-aholic, just like me. I have known Tony for over ten years and considered him one of my closest friends. He is as close to family, as I have left, especially since I haven’t talked to my parents or sister in over 7 years. I’d do anything for that guy.
The second message was also from Tony. This one had a much more somber tone. It seems a good friend of his had evidently been rushed to the hospital and he feared it was a minor stroke. Tony had briefly considered canceling his trip but asked me to follow up on his friend in the hospital instead. Tony left me the guys name and room number and told me he would call me from the port when he got to Mexico.
I figured this would be an uncomfortable visit, being that I had never met Jason, but as I mentioned there was no way I would turn down doing a favor for Tony. I’m really not a procrastinator, but I farted around for a few hours, and by that time I was pretty certain that visiting hours would be over anyway, so I made myself a promise to go see him first thing in the morning.
Anyway, Sunday morning I stopped at a grocery store and bought a get well card and a few flowers and headed on over to Memorial hospital. The parking lot was full but I found a spot after driving around a few times and headed for the main entrance. The minute I walked in the front door I remembered why I hate hospitals. I get a weird feeling in these places and felt like turning around and heading back to the car. Instead I pushed on thru and made my way to the elevators. I pulled the note from my pocket to refresh my memory. Yes, Jason King, room 415. The label on the elevator showed Floor 4 as I.C.U. , maybe this guy was in worse shape than Tony was aware of.
When I got off the elevator on floor #4 there was no one at the big octagon shaped nurses station, so I headed thru the double doors looking for room 415. Ok, 412,413,414…this is the one. The door was partially open so I walked in. It was a private room with only one bed and the drapes were pulled closed.
I worked my way around the I.V. pole and over the bed table to the side of the room closest to the windows. “Jason…Mr King, I’m Luis a fiend of Tony’s”. There was no answer, it was evident that Jason was sound asleep. It was also evident that this guy was older than I had anticipated and he didn’t look good at all. By this time, I was feeling pretty damn uncomfortable and was asking myself what the hell I doing here in the first place. I thought about just leaving the flowers and the card on the table and hitting the road, but I felt obligated to stay for at least a few minutes.
I sat down on a well worn wood and leather chair by the window and just kind of stared at the heart monitor going thru its paces. I could hear Jason breathing heavily while breathing in oxygen thru the tubes in his nose. Now, I’m not a doctor but I could tell this guy was not doing well. In a quite tone, almost a whisper, I told him not to worry, and that he would be O.K. Almost immediately it seemed as if his breathing became easier and less labored. For some reason, I felt like maybe my presence there had consoled him in some small way.
I set there for another 15 minutes and as I was getting ready to leave the old guy opened his eyes and said..”Thank you, that was very kind, will you come back again ?” Maybe he caught me off guard or maybe my conscious just took over, but without even thinking, I said “yes, I would”. I noticed a tear running down his cheek. I left the room feeling like I had done the right thing for both my friend Tony and for this poor guy lying there in obvious pain. On the way out, I decided to stop by the nurses station so that I could get a report on his condition, so that when Tony called me in a day or so from Mexico, I could tell him how his buddy was doing.
I stood silently at the desk for a moment as a young nurse was finishing up with a phone call. I told her I was checking on a stroke patient, Mr. King, in room 415. Almost without looking up she told me that Mr. King did not make it and passed away yesterday. The gentleman in the room was Mr. Penski and he had just been brought up from the operating room with quadruple by pass, and was in critical condition. She told me that she was happy someone had visited the old guy and asked if she should add my name to the visitor list for Mr. Penski, because she was told he had no living relatives or local friends.
A torrent of thoughts rushed thru my mind. What happened to Tony’s friend Jason, what was I going to say to Tony when he called, and why the hell didn’t I get here yesterday like I was supposed to. Also, who was this poor guy, in the room now.
When I got home latter that day, I thought about the events that had transpired and reflected on just how delicate life can be. I guess when you think about it, each of us is only a heart beat away from our last moment in this life. This may sound corny but I decided right then and there to go visit the old man again the following day. Maybe it’s because he was so much like me or maybe it’s because no one should have to face the unknown alone. Either way, I knew it was the right thing to do.
The next day, I was good to my word and was back in the hospital right after work to see the old man. I sat in the old wooden chair just as I had the other day and that brought a pained smile to the patients face. He motioned to me to sit closer and in a very quiet voice told me his story. He had built a large business and made a lot of money in his life, however he ignored and alienated his friends and family in the process. He told me that he wished he had spent more time doing the important things in life and he regretted that. I was deeply touched when he told me that for all he had accomplished, he had too many things left un-said and left un-done.
We talked for a while more, and I could tell there was a lot more he wanted to tell me, but his labored breathing and fatigue seemed to steal his voice away. He rested for a brief moment and grabbed my hand. He asked If I would come back again, and I told him that I would. That seemed to put him at peace. A smile came over his face, as he closed his eyes, and he gently squeezed my hand. I set there for a minute with tears streaming down my face, for a man I barely knew, yet who had taught me so much. Somehow I knew he was gone, and yet I felt strangely honored to have shared his last moments with him.
We all have key moments in our lives, and that experience marked a turning point for me. I knew I had things left un-said and things left un-done in my own life, and I was now determined to address them right away. Because I realized, we are all just a heart beat away…..
P.I.B.
I didn’t actually realize it at that moment, but my whole life was about to change. It was a typical Friday night and I had ducked out of work a half hour early to get a start on the evenings festivities. I feel like I earned the early out, after all, I am the top producing salesmen in the company, and a real work-aholic. My plan was to run back to the apartment, catch a shower and a few beers and then meet some friends for dinner.
When I got to the house I noticed I had a few messages on the recorder. The first two were from work and I had to call some customers back right away. That little exercise took almost half an hour. So, much for getting out a few minutes early. I was about to listen to the next 2 messages but rather than be late for dinner I decided they could wait until the morning.
Well, dinner and a few drinks ended up being dinner and quite a few drinks. I ended up leaving my car at the restaurant and got a taxi ride home. By the time I woke up on Saturday it was almost noon, and I had one hell of a hangover. To make matters worse, I had to ask a neighbor to drive me back over to get the Vet.
I got back to the house late Saturday after noon and noticed the message machine still blinking. I had forgotten about the two un-played messages from the other night. Both messages were from my friend Tony. He called to remind me that he was leaving on his cruise and asked if I would bring in his mail and newspapers. He sounded excited as hell and I was glad that he was taking some time off. In fact I had suggested he take the cruise as a way to relax and reminded him not to bring his laptop or cell phone. The guy is a type “a” over achiever and a true work-aholic, just like me. I have known Tony for over ten years and considered him one of my closest friends. He is as close to family, as I have left, especially since I haven’t talked to my parents or sister in over 7 years. I’d do anything for that guy.
The second message was also from Tony. This one had a much more somber tone. It seems a good friend of his had evidently been rushed to the hospital and he feared it was a minor stroke. Tony had briefly considered canceling his trip but asked me to follow up on his friend in the hospital instead. Tony left me the guys name and room number and told me he would call me from the port when he got to Mexico.
I figured this would be an uncomfortable visit, being that I had never met Jason, but as I mentioned there was no way I would turn down doing a favor for Tony. I’m really not a procrastinator, but I farted around for a few hours, and by that time I was pretty certain that visiting hours would be over anyway, so I made myself a promise to go see him first thing in the morning.
Anyway, Sunday morning I stopped at a grocery store and bought a get well card and a few flowers and headed on over to Memorial hospital. The parking lot was full but I found a spot after driving around a few times and headed for the main entrance. The minute I walked in the front door I remembered why I hate hospitals. I get a weird feeling in these places and felt like turning around and heading back to the car. Instead I pushed on thru and made my way to the elevators. I pulled the note from my pocket to refresh my memory. Yes, Jason King, room 415. The label on the elevator showed Floor 4 as I.C.U. , maybe this guy was in worse shape than Tony was aware of.
When I got off the elevator on floor #4 there was no one at the big octagon shaped nurses station, so I headed thru the double doors looking for room 415. Ok, 412,413,414…this is the one. The door was partially open so I walked in. It was a private room with only one bed and the drapes were pulled closed.
I worked my way around the I.V. pole and over the bed table to the side of the room closest to the windows. “Jason…Mr King, I’m Luis a fiend of Tony’s”. There was no answer, it was evident that Jason was sound asleep. It was also evident that this guy was older than I had anticipated and he didn’t look good at all. By this time, I was feeling pretty damn uncomfortable and was asking myself what the hell I doing here in the first place. I thought about just leaving the flowers and the card on the table and hitting the road, but I felt obligated to stay for at least a few minutes.
I sat down on a well worn wood and leather chair by the window and just kind of stared at the heart monitor going thru its paces. I could hear Jason breathing heavily while breathing in oxygen thru the tubes in his nose. Now, I’m not a doctor but I could tell this guy was not doing well. In a quite tone, almost a whisper, I told him not to worry, and that he would be O.K. Almost immediately it seemed as if his breathing became easier and less labored. For some reason, I felt like maybe my presence there had consoled him in some small way.
I set there for another 15 minutes and as I was getting ready to leave the old guy opened his eyes and said..”Thank you, that was very kind, will you come back again ?” Maybe he caught me off guard or maybe my conscious just took over, but without even thinking, I said “yes, I would”. I noticed a tear running down his cheek. I left the room feeling like I had done the right thing for both my friend Tony and for this poor guy lying there in obvious pain. On the way out, I decided to stop by the nurses station so that I could get a report on his condition, so that when Tony called me in a day or so from Mexico, I could tell him how his buddy was doing.
I stood silently at the desk for a moment as a young nurse was finishing up with a phone call. I told her I was checking on a stroke patient, Mr. King, in room 415. Almost without looking up she told me that Mr. King did not make it and passed away yesterday. The gentleman in the room was Mr. Penski and he had just been brought up from the operating room with quadruple by pass, and was in critical condition. She told me that she was happy someone had visited the old guy and asked if she should add my name to the visitor list for Mr. Penski, because she was told he had no living relatives or local friends.
A torrent of thoughts rushed thru my mind. What happened to Tony’s friend Jason, what was I going to say to Tony when he called, and why the hell didn’t I get here yesterday like I was supposed to. Also, who was this poor guy, in the room now.
When I got home latter that day, I thought about the events that had transpired and reflected on just how delicate life can be. I guess when you think about it, each of us is only a heart beat away from our last moment in this life. This may sound corny but I decided right then and there to go visit the old man again the following day. Maybe it’s because he was so much like me or maybe it’s because no one should have to face the unknown alone. Either way, I knew it was the right thing to do.
The next day, I was good to my word and was back in the hospital right after work to see the old man. I sat in the old wooden chair just as I had the other day and that brought a pained smile to the patients face. He motioned to me to sit closer and in a very quiet voice told me his story. He had built a large business and made a lot of money in his life, however he ignored and alienated his friends and family in the process. He told me that he wished he had spent more time doing the important things in life and he regretted that. I was deeply touched when he told me that for all he had accomplished, he had too many things left un-said and left un-done.
We talked for a while more, and I could tell there was a lot more he wanted to tell me, but his labored breathing and fatigue seemed to steal his voice away. He rested for a brief moment and grabbed my hand. He asked If I would come back again, and I told him that I would. That seemed to put him at peace. A smile came over his face, as he closed his eyes, and he gently squeezed my hand. I set there for a minute with tears streaming down my face, for a man I barely knew, yet who had taught me so much. Somehow I knew he was gone, and yet I felt strangely honored to have shared his last moments with him.
We all have key moments in our lives, and that experience marked a turning point for me. I knew I had things left un-said and things left un-done in my own life, and I was now determined to address them right away. Because I realized, we are all just a heart beat away…..
P.I.B.
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