During his hospitalization for treatment of prostate cancer, this pastor-author found that the ill are often not put off by the shortcomings of those who would provide spiritual care. They are able to see beyond any shortcomings of their minister to the life and power of the liturgy itself and the pastor's "loving intentions."
Although he recalls times in his work as a hospital chaplain when he cared for people superficially, the author notes that patients themselves ministered to him, teaching him more compassionate ways to serve.
When a bungled catheterization following surgery causes a life-threatening hemorrhage, this Lutheran minister and hospital chaplain finds himself on the receiving end of professional pastoral care. Regretting the times in offered "Gospel platitudes and sugar-coated Bible verses" to suffering patients, the author finds that his experience has brought him closer to God's presence and made him a better minister.
In attempting to manage their practices efficiently, doctors may not allow seriously ill patients enough time to sort out their feelings and raise important questions. What is at stake here is not information about prognosis and treatments but the very survival of the soul.
The inept physical therapist is unable to be with her patient, unable to "move on from the 'I' to a 'we.'" The effective therapist helps the patient make friends with his body and with the cosmos and leaves room for the patient's struggle with the questions of life's meaning brought to the fore by serious illness.
Alternative healing is an idea whose time has come, and 1993 was the critical year for that recognition. So believes internist David Edelberg, founder of the Chicago Holistic Center. There patients can see one of four allopathic physicians as well as practitioners in 37 additional therapies, including acupuncture, infant massage, homeopathy, nutrition counseling, and Ayurvedic medicine.
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