On day, taking orders for my company, I received a call from Rita Hays. She starts the conversation," This is Rita Hays, without the 'E'", She places her order and I happen to ask her if she was making the purchase for a loved one or for herself. I was taking orders for a book on natural cures. She hesitated for a minute and said, "I'm buying for myself because I'm depressed and can not eat or sleep, all I do is cry, because they killed my Sam," I could tell she was getting upset, so I inquired about Sam. She said that Sam was her best friend and husband for more than 50 years. She and Sam used to live near Chicago until about a year ago, when Sam decided they should move to Florida, away from the harsh winters in the Midwest. Rita didn't want to leave their home that she had shared with him for all those years, but she went because she loved her Sam, and would go where ever he thought they should. Sam was not blessed with good health. He had been diagnosed with cancer 3 times, but also beat it each time. Rita stated that they always tried to live a healthy lifestyle through a good attitude, faith in God and a good diet. Sam was never discouraged by his lot in life as long as Rita was there to get them through it. One day, not so long ago, Sam was suffering from recurrent pneumonia and was having trouble breathing. Rita and Sam decided that he had better go to the hospital and get an x-ray. When they arrived they were informed that Sam's doctor was on vacation but they would notify him. Sam was ordered to have CT done. Rita accompanied Sam to the x-ray department. As the technician was starting, Rita stated that Sam had an allergy to the dye and he was not supposed to receive it. The technician stated that the allergy was not listed and it should be ok. Rita begged the technician to call the doctor or Mayo clinic for confirmation of the allergy. The technician disregarded her request and went ahead with the CT and dye. Everything was fine for awhile. But the day that Sam was to be transferred out off the ICU, Sam Coded. (That becomes an emergency situation.) When the staff was finally able to stabilize Sam he was in a coma and on a respirator. Two days later, Sam died and a good part of Rita did to. Sam and Rita never got to say good-bye. Rita accused the hospital of "killing" Sam. The staff denied their guilt stating it could not have been the dye, for it had been given days before the Code. Rita was sent home without her Sam and no one nearby that knew her and Sam well enough to come calling. I enquired if she had any family and when could they come to be with her or if she had a church that they were attending. She said her son was in Texas and was making plans for his family to come and assist with the funeral. But, he couldn't get much time off from his job, so for now she was alone. Rita said they hadn't lived in the area long enough to find new friends and hadn't decided on which church to attend but had visited several. Rita became silent. Rita said she had considered getting a lawyer. She stated, "When I tried to get all of Sam's records from the hospital they told her that they were unable to access his files, they seemed to have been deleted. Rita then told me she has no money to try and sue them, plus she felt she could not fight such a large hospital with any hopes of winning. But most of all, no money in the world would replace her precious Sam. Rita was crying now. I wished I could jump through the phone and comfort Rita in person. Since I couldn't I asked Rita if I could pray for her. Rita said,” That would be nice". Rita stated that she was worried what her purpose in life was now that Sam was gone. What was she to do? She doesn't even drive because Sam always drove. She said she had before and thought she may be able to learn again. She said she wanted to move back to Chicago, but it just wouldn't be the same without Sam. Then she said something as if it occurred to her for the first time. She said she was worried that she would get hurt and call for an ambulance and they would automatically take her to the same hospital that "killed" her Sam. I tried to reassure her that she was not going to be hurt if she was careful, ate right and got plenty of rest. I asked her if she considered having her doctor subscribe a short term antidepressant. Rita refused the idea and stated she's never been on any drugs before; she wasn't going to start now. She said she hated how many drugs Sam had to take, but they had no choice. I asked Rita if she would consider counting her blessings at night when she was trying to sleep. She said she was having trouble these days being grateful for anything but she would work on it. I asked Rita if she had considered moving to Texas to be closer to her son and his family. I suggested that she go be near her grandchildren, because they could bring joy back into her life. Rita agreed as if she had not thought of this before. Her voice got stronger and she started making plans out loud as to how and what she would have to do to make this happen. She said her daughter-in-law had said many times that she wished Rita lived close by and could help watch their boys. Here was her chance to do just that. Rita said that she and Sam had not had time to form many good memories in Florida and now it will always remind her of her loss. Rita apologized for keeping me on the phone for so long, I stated it was perfectly alright and it was God's plan. Rita told me I was an Angel sent from above, just when she needed one. Goose bumps went up my neck and I thanked God, silently, for sending Rita my way. We said our goodbyes and I said another pray for Rita Hays (without the "E"). ...read more
By Lifestyles Unlimited LLC January 22, 2008
Safety is protection for a person or object from danger, risk or injury. Consistent patterns of believing, thinking and responding in a risk prohibitive manner denote a culture of safety. Safety rules are guidelines designed to lower the probability of danger for a person or object. The following list... ...read more
In a declining economy, enrolling in classes offered online can allow you to pursue a degree program in a different career or to supplement your current degree. What's more, online classes allow busy professionals to take classes at times more convenient to them. ...read more
