This year’s Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Luncheon warmed my heart and stirred up some memories of all the amazing individuals who have touched my heart throughout my years here at The Lutheran Home.
Let me begin with a disclaimer, these reflections are not intended to be about me, rather the amazing culture of The Lutheran Home’s Mission and the amazing people we are privileged to get to know.
I began my career at The Lutheran Home when I was 16 years old. I was a nursing assistant, referred to as an orderly, as males were back then. I was a young, naïve introvert and little did I know that this job would be the beginning of a life-changing career. During this journey, I have met some incredible individuals.
Shortly after I started here, I met Venetta. She was a resident of the Hope Residence, and I would see her often when she came over to the skilled nursing side of the building. She would like to walk around the grounds when I had my breaks. She would reach out and hold my hand. This was awkward for a shy 16-year-old kid. I learned to appreciate the simpler things in life by the example she led. She was baptized here as an adult, and she cherished every day and everyone.
Then there was Paul. Paul had a muscular dystrophy diagnosis and was restricted to a wheelchair. He had minimal use of his arms and hands. He was an amazing artist and even with his physical limitations, he would create colorful greeting cards featuring animals and birds. He did not have a lot of family nearby and I knew how much he enjoyed the Bowler Burger Basket at the local bowling alley. The bowling alley is about a half of a mile away from The Lutheran Home and I did not have all the transportation options of today, being a young teenager. So, several times a year, Paul and I would hit the streets with his wheelchair and head out for the infamous Bowler’s Burger Basket. The stories he shared, his positivity and appreciation for each day left a forever impression on my heart.
There have been so many wonderful individuals and stories that have touched my life. I would be remiss if I did not end with Joey’s story. Joey had Tourette Syndrome and was a friend of my former wife’s family for many years. Joey resided in the Hope Residence and when I was the administrator of The Lutheran Home, Joey would come to my office to shred papers for me. There were times that I would struggle to find enough papers for Joey to shred, but I knew how much he enjoyed helping me with the paper shredding. Often he would get so excited that he jammed the shredder with far too many pieces of paper to shred at once. I would think to myself, 'Joey, slow down and enjoy the shredding. I worked hard to find enough for you to shred.’ Throughout the years, there were many burned out paper shredders that had to be replaced. I will always remember a picture of Joey at my office door one Halloween, when I was out of the building. He was dressed up as a lady with the name badge ‘Josephine’ pinned on his outfit. Some of Joey’s tics from his disease presented verbally with his expressions ‘getty up,’ and ‘oh boy.’ When he got excited, he would light up the room with an excited ‘wooo!’ We would periodically have him over to the house for a barbeque. He was always so grateful and expressed his appreciation with the words ‘nice meal,’ and ‘boy like.’
When we were pregnant with our third son, Logan, Joey’s health was declining. When Logan was born, there were some complications which necessitated his remaining hospitalized for a few days. One late afternoon after returning home from the hospital, I got a call from the Hope Residence. I remember the words, “Rick, you may want to come to Hope now, if you want to say goodbye to Joey.” I remember walking into Joey’s room. At first, he was unresponsive. I told him I was there and he opened his eyes and immediately asked, ‘how’s boy?’ I had no idea that he knew that Logan was in the hospital. I reassured him that Logan was going to be fine. I told Joey that I loved him and reminisced about all the wonderful memories we had together. Within 15 minutes of my return home from Hope Residence, I received the call announcing that Joey had passed. The world lost one of the kindest souls that day. His way of living put everything in perspective for me.
I tend to approach my career from the perspective of helping others. I have had many individuals like Venetta, Paul and Joey that have touched my life. I have often reflected on the fact that it has not been so much about me helping the individuals in my career that have touched my heart, rather it is impressions I have been left with and the life lessons they have taught me.
Love is not the only thing in the air; there are many years of amazing memories along the journey as well.
