Another day, another dollar. I quickly pushed open double-doors of the hospice care with its name written in baby blue, Apple Chancery font, Angelic Hospice Care. I race through lobby trying to get to the elevator before it closes. “Gosh, damnit. I’m going to be late again.” I pressed the up arrow waiting for another chance. That name has a ring to it, but I don’t know if one can depend on angels. There was one instance, though, where it made me wonder. Miracles? Hmmm. The elevator door opens, and I push the number two.
Here hospice care nurses are assigned a group of patients to care for. There was this one patient in my group, Mr. Harvey. He was the last one from my first group. He could never get approved to be released. It’s been two years now. However, after the coma something seemed to have caused a change in him.
“Kelen, did you check on Mr. Harvey yet?” Doctor Clint asked, while they were at the nurses’ station on the second floor.
“No, I was in the middle of caring for Ms. Trent,” I said.
“Please give him this chemotherapy treatment,” Doctor Clint said.
“Did he get denied again?” I asked.
“The board did not approve his release. So, here we are,” Doctor Clint said.
I took the medication from Doctor Clint and headed over to Mr. Harvey’s carpeted room. It was around 2pm. The sun’s rays were shining through the sheer beige-colored draperies, brightening up the room. A vase filled with beautiful bouquet of lavenders was set on the small table. Mr. Harvey sat at an upright position with the help of his mechanical-hospital bed.
“Hi, Mr. Harvey. It smells like lavender in here. How are you doing today?” I asked.
“I’m okay. Yes, my new bouquet came today. Since, waking from the coma, I can’t get enough of them. Curly and Moe are two knuckle heads. I love watching their antics,” Mr. Harvey answered.
“Oh, you’re watching, The Three Stooges.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Mr. Harvey said.
“Mr. Harvey, I’m here to give you the new treatments.”
“I hate them now. I was in a coma for three days last time. It’s been two weeks since then. My throat still feels so raw, I can’t eat anything but creamed soup, yogurt, smoothie for breakfast, and water. I feel like a guinea pig,” Mr. Harvey said.
“I know, Mr. Harvey. The coma was the hardest, but you got through it.”
“I guess there’s an angel watching over me,” Mr. Harvey said.
“Mr. Harvey you don’t believe in God or Angels.”
“Well, with the chemotherapy I’ve been given, they would make anyone believe in them. I do not want them anymore. Just let me die,” Mr. Harvey said.
“The treatments have been keeping you alive.”
“I know,” Mr. Harvey said.
Just as I was about to go find Doctor Clint, he walked into Mr. Harvey’s hospice room.
“Oh, hello, Mr. Harvey. How are you feeling? I am just checking on you to see how the new treatments are working,” Doctor Clint said.
“Thanks for stopping by Doctor Clint. I have decided not to take the chemotherapy anymore.”
“It’s been treating you. When you were first admitted here, you wanted us to prescribe the best new and existing chemotherapy treatments on the market,” Doctor Clint said.
“I know. It’s been a long road. The thought of dying was so daunting back then. I was not ready. The grim reaper was waiting for me.”
“Are you sure about this, Mr. Harvey?” Doctor Clint asked.
“Yes, I am. I realized that Heaven is not for sale. I don’t know if the good Lord will forgive me for all the bad stuff. I can only hope that HE has mercy on my soul. I am not afraid to die anymore. Death is not daunting anymore. This facility took me in. Then, kept me alive here for two years, despite my terrible attitude. I feel happier now.”
“Well, I can call an emergency board meeting. You are a special case, Mr. Harvey. The board would have to approve it, even if you were one of the board directors prior to your diagnosis,” Doctor Clint said.
“Well, I can ask them in person. I have rights.”
“Yes, you do,” Doctor Clint said.
In fifteen minutes, Doctor Clint, Nurse Kelen, and Mr. Harvey were facing 4 members of the board of directors (on short notice only 4 could make it) to plead the case to them.
“Mr. Harvey, you are requesting cessation of chemotherapy, am I right?” Ms. Joan asked.
“Yes, Ms. Joan, that is right,” Mr. Harvey said.
“Well, Mr. Harvey, we cannot approve it,” Joan said.
“Well, I have rights as a patient here,” Mr. Harvey said.
“Well, Joan, we can approve it. We cannot guarantee how long the treatments will keep him alive,” Mr. Theodore said.
“Well, Mr. Harvey, you are making an in-person plea. Before, it was Dr. Clint making them, so we didn’t approve it,” Joan said.
The board continued.
“All agree to release Mr. Harvey of his chemotherapy treatments, say ‘Agree’,” Mr. Theodore said.
“Agree!” All four members of the Board of Directors said.
Mr. Harvey signed all the paperwork releasing him from future chemotherapy and from Angelic Hospice Care.
“Wow, it’s 2:50 p.m., what an hour!” Kelen said.
“Yes, well we have to oblige a dying man’s wish,” Doctor Clint said.
We were heading back to Mr. Harvey’s hospice room.
“You know, Mr. Harvey, we were giving you the same treatments for two years. It will wear off in 5 years, but it won’t reduce your condition,” Doctor Clint said.
“Thank you, Doctor Clint and Nurse Kelen. I appreciate all you have done for me,” Mr. Harvey said.
Mr. Harvey lived ten years and passed away from natural causes at 90 years old. He left half of his fortune to Angelic Hospice Care.
Carline Francois grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and enjoyed reading from the time she was a young girl. Reading helped her to escape and awakened her imagination. As an adult, she continued reading as a hobby while working her corporate job. After a brief study in Creative writing at FIU, it stirred a new interest in writing in a new way. A couple of years later completed a manuscript and then completed a second one, but this time stepped into the unknown to have it published. Her Genre consist of Christian, Fiction, Young Adult, MG, and Children. Three areas I am exploring are; mystery, poetry, screenwriting.
