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True heroI wanted the world to stop for just a moment. As I stood in St. Theresa's church on that Tuesday morning, I just wanted all traffic to stop and the world to stand still for just one moment. They did not realize what just happened. The world did not realize that they had just lost one of their most precious children. The cars did not stop, and the hustle and bustle of the morning rush hour continued, but the people in the church knew what had happened. We had just lost one of the most amazing individuals that one might ever have the honor of knowing. We all stood in that church engaged in a standing ovation. You see David was an avid baseball fan. His friend, Tom, who was giving the eulogy, asked us to join him in a standing ovation for a true hero. So we all stood there applauding. We were applauding his life and his strength and his humor and his love. David was 21 years old. Four years previous, he had come into my life after suffering a stroke while away at college. David had a congenital cardiac defect, which had been corrected years previous but had put him at a high risk for stroke. The left-sided weakness and the expressive aphasia did not slow David down. He was amazing. His smile, with the left side droop, could fill up a room. He did not despair as we struggled to understand what he was trying to say. Four years after suffering that stroke, David returned to the hospital with deterioration in his disease. He needed additional surgery that was going to be provided at another hospital. It was Sunday morning, and David asked me if I could take him down to Mass in the hospital chapel. I was honored to stand with my friend in church that morning. It was not until three days later that I fully realized the impact of that gift. David was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday with plans to be admitted to the other hospital on Thursday for additional cardiac surgery. David died that Wednesday after suffering a fatal stroke while in the car with his Mom. I was the last person that David stood in church with. I also had taken the last photos of David with his family that day he was discharged from the hospital. If I had been in any other profession in the world, I would have never known David and his beautiful smile. It was my honor to care for David and be his friend. At the wake, David's Dad gave me his Red Sox baseball cap ..."he would have wanted you to have this." There is no other job in the world with compensation like that. Indeed, the world did not stop that Tuesday morning in St. Theresa's church. However, as I stood in the church, time did stand still as I honored a true hero.
Catherine W. Stevens |
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