Giuseppe–he’s my hospice patient. Its pronounced juice-eh-peh, he’s from Italy. I met him yesterday along with his courageous wife and a nurse showing me the ropes. I drove up to the gate to see the nurse, Mary, waiting for me. I followed her through the gate and into the nursing home community. She brought him a banana since the homes are usually lacking in fresh foods.
As we walk into the nursing home, we’re greeted by a warm smile who tells us to sign in–especially since I don’t have my name badge yet. We do as we’re told, sign in and use some hand sanitizer. Have to be sanitary! The lady at the front desk doesn’t know what room Giuseppe is in, so we arrive at the nurses’ station and wait on someone to help us. I have a look around and see all these elderly people sitting in their rolling chairs, some sleeping, some just glad to be outside of their room. My eyes instantly fall on this elderly man in a dark, striped shirt. He stared right back at me; I had a feeling that he was my patient.
A nurse arrives to let us know that Giuseppe is in fact the man in the striped shirt. We walk up to him to let him know that I’ll be a volunteer coming to visit him weekly. He nods in acknowledgement. After moving him to his room, his wife—Vita—entered. She gave him a hug and we introduced ourselves.
The room was small and being shared with another person, so the four of us took a tour of the building. Giuseppe knew his way around and would signal in the direction he wished to go. I had a turn to push him in his reclining wheelchair. It was difficult to maneuver on turns, but I eventually got the hang of it. His wife took over though, I felt as if I wasn’t going fast enough for her. Vita has been taking care of him for years, so I’m sure she didn’t like someone else taking the reins.
We stopped in a large, empty waiting area so Giuseppe could sip his coffee and sat down for a chat. They were both from Italy, but moved to America in the 70′s. They will be married for 35 years this October. They have two sons and three grandchildren. Unfortunately, one son lives in Phoenix and the other travels for work. He had tons of pictures of his family around in his room. There was also a picture of a large ship; his wife said he used to work on the cruise ship. She talked of their life together and a month long trip to Italy with him and their kids. Giuseppe suddenly had a heart attack when they returned and later had a brain tumor which was removed with surgery. He has been confined to a wheel chair for 10 years. He didn’t talk much. I don’t know if he doesn’t like to talk or if it’s difficult for him since he has lung cancer.
Giuseppe was restless, struggling to move his leg up and down, up and down. He wanted to leave the area and go outside and shortly back to the room since it was so hot. When we got back to the room, we said our goodbyes. I hugged Giuseppe; he gave me a kiss on the cheek, which I returned. What a sweet old man! I gave his wife a few hugs before we left. She started tearing up and I’m a very emotional person, so I did the same.
It was a moving experience for me. Knowing who he was before I was told by the nurse, it’s as if we already had a connection. I can already tell he is a very sweet man. I would hold his hand and he wouldn’t let go. And the unexpected kiss on the cheek was just the most charming gesture!
