The latest on Annie (and five keys to good hospital visits)

Here’s the latest on Annie…we’re thankful that the cultures have all yielded good news so far. They haven’t found meningitis or other nasty stuff. They will keep Annie in the hospital overnight again tonight (Monday) because it is standard procedure to keep the infant for observation for 48 hours after a lumbar puncture.

Being in the hospital with Annie has helped me realize again how meaningful visits are. It’s also reminded me of what makes for a good hospital visit, because on Sunday afternoon/evening we were on the receiving end of three great visits. Here are five features of good hospital visits that have been reinforced in my mind. The reason I’m bothering to mention these is that I would love to see more of us at PCF doing hospital visits. They’re a major blessing to those who are visited and also to the visitors. And it is not difficult to do a good hospital – anyone can do it!

1. Your presence means the most

It was meaningful to Emma and me to receive these three visits. The best part was simply seeing some friendly, familiar faces in the alien, clinical context of the hospital. That was reassuring. The presence of these friends reminded us of their love for us. In Matthew 25, King Jesus tells his people that a good response to hunger is giving food, a good response to thirst is giving water, a good response to someone being naked is clothing them, and a good response to someone being sick is…visiting them. That’s all – just a visit! Not necessarily curing them. Jesus says visiting them is a good response worthy of blessing. Your presence means the most.

2. Keep the visit short

Our visitors were very thoughtful in keeping their visits short. When you’re visiting someone in the hospital, they’re probably not sleeping well and are exhausted (we were). So, while they want to see you they’re probably not up for a 2-hour marathon visit. The visits we received were very short and just right in length.

3. Pray with the person you’re visiting

It is a great thing to pray with the person you’re visiting. Don’t just tell them you’re praying for them – actually go into God’s presence together and lift up to God the person you’re visiting. Being prayed for is particularly meaningful when you’re feeling weak and vulnerable in the hospital.

4. Simple gifts mean a lot

A couple of our visitors brought us our favorite kind of coffee. That was meaningful for two reasons. One, we were exhausted and the caffeine was welcome. Second, it reminded us that these friends really know us – they know what we like and were thinking of us. It was a simple gesture that meant a lot.

5. Think about the needs of the person you’re visiting

I had gone home to grab some stuff and Emma was napping when some of our visitors came. Instead of barging in on Emma and waking her, they simply left a sweet note for us. If they had been thinking of themselves and the time they had spent driving to the hospital, they would have gone ahead and visited in order to make the trip worth their while. But instead they were thinking of Emma’s needs. The note was more than sufficient to remind us of their love for us. We knew that they had cared enough to come.

Posted by Stephen Witmer on Aug 30, 02:40 PM