A Hospital Chaplain Praying with Patients in Crisis

As a hospital chaplain and member of an interdisciplinary team, my focus and role is that of a spiritual care giver. In my initial patient assessment, I ask myself: What does this person need? Who is available to provide it? And What personal issues are present? I invite patients to tell their story. I "sit with", "listen to", and " journey with" them . This approach enables them to open up and address such possible issues as feelings of fear, discouragement, anxiety and anger; longing for a lost loved one; a self-destructive lifestyle; terminal condition and ethical concerns. These are spiritual issues.

Two specific experiences I recently encountered with patients in crisis reveal that during the early stages of suffering, the spiritual minded person is apt to have the same intensity of struggle as a non-religious person. The tsk of the spiritual care-giver is to enable the patient to express negative feelings, dwell in ones heart, review the past and trust in the Lord. These are spiritual issues and may be named as the prayer of protest, the prayer of silence, the prayer of memories and the prayer of trust.

Kate, a 42 year-old, single woman with coronary disease has had several angioplasty procedures, is a diabetic and is presently in the hospital with thrombosis of the lower extremity, which means she needs surgical amputation of her right leg. Because of her diabetic condition, a second amputation has to be performed.

Mary is a 78 year-old mother of three and has a devoted husband. She had open-heart surgery. Presently she developed tumors on her back, underwent surgery and was diagnosed with metastatic cancer.

As each woman related to her medical and personal history, she commented, "It isn't fair;" and "Why me? I don't deserve this!" In times of crisis, patients become fearful of the consequences, deny what is happening, and can't recite formal prayers. At this time, I strongly suggest that they place their formal prayers aside and speak to their Daddy about their fears and frustrations. At the end of our conversation, I pray with them about their anxieties and attempt to model for them a new way of speaking to their God.

Prayer of Protest. Over the years as spiritual care giver, I have come to the realization that crisis time is the Lord's way of inviting each of us to a more personal, intimate relationship with Him. Even though some of us are better at expressing our feelings than others, God, nevertheless, remains silent and non-responsive. As the silence persists, God even becomes faceless. At this moment, the patient feels abandoned, alone and forsaken.

Prayer of Silence. What does one do? Patients naturally turn inward and reflect upon their past as a way of trying to make best sense of their suffering. As the patients evaluate their lives, relationships and decisions, powerful memories emerge.

Eventually the Prayer of Memories brings forth thankfulness and quiet awesomeness. Patients then can let go of the past and concentrate on the resent.

Hope emerges as Prayer of Trust. Hope is not expecting a cure or understanding the purpose of suffering; rather it reminds the patient that Jesus, our Brother, also struggled to trust his Daddy and that same Jesus walks with, embraces and supports them. Kate needed to go to a rehab center and Mary decided to go home and die in the presence of her family.