Mary Ann is in a Fort Worth hospital recovering from a lung cancer operation. She shares the room with an Alzheimer's patient, the only thing separating them being a white curtain from floor to ceiling.
Often times during the night, the Alzheimer's patient starts moaning and screaming out. Mary Ann wants so badly to comfort her, but what can she do? And on top of that, the outbursts keep Mary Ann from sleeping through the night.
The other night when the lady was quiet for a moment or two, Mary Ann said to her in a quiet voice and from her bed on the other side of the curtain, "I'm an angel and I have been sent here to comfort you." With that, Mary Ann began singing the hymns she remembered from the Baptist hymnal, one after another.
At first her roommate was still, but before long, she started humming along with Mary Ann, and then she sang the words she could remember. Soon she drifted off to sleep and remained at peace for the rest of the night.
The next day when the Alzheimer's patient's family came to see her, she told them that the night before an angel had come to visit her.
Bill, This is a very touching story. It reminds me of one of my favourite films, 'The Notebook'. Did you see it?
Mary Ann is an angel......I believe that at various times , we are all called upon to play that role, and when we do, it is not acting at all.
Jo
Andrew
It almost seems unbelievable that medicine has spent so much time and resources figuring out how to get the body to outlive the rational mind. It was no favor to mankind.
I stayed very, very close to my own mom for the ten years she progressed through the various stages. It made me a much better person, and far more appreciative of the elderly-elderly. (I suppose I'm elderly at 67, although I refuse to think it for even one moment.) You're going to find that gift, too. It's a blessing.
Miss Jo
You and I see this alike.
GOD Blesses!
Billycherry
Bill - I enjoyed this post....well, maybe "enjoyed" is the wrong word, considering the subject matter. I was touched by this post. I was also wondering who Mary Ann was. Thanks for sharing this story.
Miss Joan and Jason -
Mary Ann is our very close friend, Cindi's, mother. We have gone through weeks of scares and wait-and-sees with Mary Ann with her lung cancer diagnosis. The lump has been removed, it hadn't metastasized, and whatever was causing the anemia after the surgery is apparently getting under control.
It's going to be a good Thanksgiving for Mary Ann and Cindi and for those of us who love them.
Thanks for asking.
Bill
Bill: Mary Ann was an angel to comfort her room mate as she did. Thanks for posting to Inspiration!
Mike in Tucson
Hey, Mike
Thanks for your comment. I'm an angel-believing kind of guy. I've been surrounded by them for my whole life. Some look like the people next door. Others I've never seen, only experienced their presence.
GOD Blesses!
Billycherry