Some Kindnesses Are Unforgettable

I cannot say enough good things about Teresa, the CNA who was assigned to our family by the hospice organization that helped us in my Mom’s last six months.

Teresa visited our house every weekday in the afternoon, for an hour or so. She was there to help with anything we might be having problems with, and she was an amazing source of information and support to both my Mom and to my sisters and I as caregivers. I don’t know what we would’ve done without her, to tell the truth. My Mom did not “take” to people that easily – and she did not suffer fools gladly. She was very nervous about “having strangers in her house,” even though we desperately needed help. In fact, she vetoed several healthcare workers along the way, and even fired one we’d agreed on (she did it after I had left for a quick business trip out of town). When I got back, we had to start all over again with searching for someone who met Mom’s standards.

But she trusted and loved Teresa, who understood and accepted my Mom for who she really was. She was a member of our family for 6 months, helping greatly to ease my Mom’s way into the next world.

We lost touch with Teresa very soon after my Mom passed. She came to the funeral, and we all cried together … but after that, she wouldn’t answer our calls. I felt that she had been deeply moved by her involvement with our family, and I surmised that it must be very painful for her to engage at that deep level with families and patients, and to see her patients die, one by one. I even wondered if there might be a “rule” or “guideline” for the hospice workers that prohibited them from further interfacing with the families, once the patient died.

In any case, the days, months and years rolled by, and there was no contact. But I never forgot the comfort and closeness that I had felt with Teresa, and I hoped that she knew how grateful and appreciative we were for all she had done for us.

Last week I got a text from my one of my sisters who still lives in our hometown area; she had been to the car dealer for a routine tune-up, and lo and behold – she ran into Teresa in the waiting room there! What a coincidence! We are now texting back and forth, trying to set up a time to chat by telephone. I am delighted to be back in touch with this woman who was such an intense part of our lives for that very short but dramatic time.