I HEAR VOICES
Joe Robinson was a black man in his middle forties and was sick with multiple myeloma and also mentally ill. Joe was not initially actively dying but he was bedridden and seemed to be filled with anxiety.
As I entered his room, I began with my usual introductory line saying, “Hi! I’m a volunteer from Hospice here at the prison hospital. I am here to assist you in your spiritual and social needs….” Before I could finish my usual introductory line, Joe immediately interjected. “Can we talk about my fears? I am hearing voices! Yes, usually they are frightening me. I hear these voices threatening me and making me very anxious. Yes, they are evil voices.”
Although I knew he was mentally ill, I was not prepared to deal with a schizophrenic. I have no training especially with this type of mental illness. What do I tell this man in order to ease his anxieties? Although Mr. Robinson was seeing a prison psychiatrist he obviously was still very mentally ill. So I came up with this basic reply, “Tell those voices to shut up! Tell them you are in charge of your thoughts, not them.” I also surmised this person needed spiritual help. What simple prayer may I suggest to him to counteract those voices? So I continued speaking, “Do you know the ‘Our Father’ prayer? In this prayer there is a phrase saying ‘Deliver us from Evil’. Why don’t you and I say the ‘Our Father’ prayer together, now”, After this prayer we recited together, Joe continued ,”My brother is a minister. I feel at peace when he comes to visit me”. “OK I will talk to the Medical Social Worker to call your brother for another visit. Be conscious that Jesus Christ is always beside you. No harm can come to you if you realize this.”
In my next visit the following week, Mr. Robinson’s medical condition was worsening. His left hand was swollen. His abdomen on the right side was profusely bleeding. I also recalled that my suggestions to him last week, on shutting down those evil voices in his mind. It was only a temporary solution. So I asked, “Do you still hear those evil voices talking to you?” “Not very much”, he replied. “They seem to be slowly fading away. I had some woman appear in my room this week. She told me not to be afraid. She also put a gauze here in my open wound and said the bleeding would stop. She also told me that Jesus Christ would be here beside me. This woman’s name was Sherry or Mary, I am not sure. I am more at peace now and I am not afraid. As I think about Jesus Christ, those evil voices are slowly leaving me.” Whether Joe had an illusion because these hospital nurses were regularly attending to him or he had some spiritual revelation, I do not know. The fact is he seemed to be mentally relieved of his anxiety. And so I continued, ”You are now realizing God is more powerful than those evil voices. Try to keep in constant communication with Jesus Christ. Just say what is in your heart.”
The following week, during my visit, Mr. Robinson was dozing on and off from consciousness. I realized he was delirious. His voice seems to grow weaker. “Joe, do you remember who I am? Let me say a prayer for you.” Mr. Robinson then countered, “Listen. Do you hear the voice of Jesus Christ? Now listen.” “These evil voices, are they still there?” “No, they are not there anymore. I hear the voice of Sherry.” Sherry was the woman in his mind to tell him not to worry. While I said a prayer for him, his eyes kept closing and alternately opening as if losing consciousness.
The week after, Mr. Robinson was feeling better. “Hey, I got good news. I have been granted Medical Parole. I am really happy about this. No, I do not hear those evil voices anymore. But I have this pain in my chest.” “Ask God to help you also in your physical pain.” “I know that. Jesus Christ is the only one that can really help me. Thanks for coming to see me.” During my visit, the head nurse and a ward nurse were attending to Mr. Robinson’s needs. He said to them, ”You are all not going to leave me are you? I am at peace now. I feel good inside.”
In my last visit, Mr. Robinson was very uncomfortable and his pains seem to aggravate. I believe he was dying. He was on oxygen, his open sores kept reappearing, and he would lapse into unconsciousness on and off. “Joe, don’t be afraid to die. Don’t loose your faith. Jesus Christ is here beside you keeping you company.” His last words were, “I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe….” His words started fading away.
The Corrections Medical Social personnel informed me Mr. Robinson was indeed discharged from the prison hospital under a Medical Parole status. Unfortunately he continued saying, Mr. Robinson died two days after his release. One comforting situation is that his mother and other close relatives were at his bedside when he died. He was at a Hospice house at that time.
Joe Robinson was a black man in his middle forties and was sick with multiple myeloma and also mentally ill. Joe was not initially actively dying but he was bedridden and seemed to be filled with anxiety.
As I entered his room, I began with my usual introductory line saying, “Hi! I’m a volunteer from Hospice here at the prison hospital. I am here to assist you in your spiritual and social needs….” Before I could finish my usual introductory line, Joe immediately interjected. “Can we talk about my fears? I am hearing voices! Yes, usually they are frightening me. I hear these voices threatening me and making me very anxious. Yes, they are evil voices.”
Although I knew he was mentally ill, I was not prepared to deal with a schizophrenic. I have no training especially with this type of mental illness. What do I tell this man in order to ease his anxieties? Although Mr. Robinson was seeing a prison psychiatrist he obviously was still very mentally ill. So I came up with this basic reply, “Tell those voices to shut up! Tell them you are in charge of your thoughts, not them.” I also surmised this person needed spiritual help. What simple prayer may I suggest to him to counteract those voices? So I continued speaking, “Do you know the ‘Our Father’ prayer? In this prayer there is a phrase saying ‘Deliver us from Evil’. Why don’t you and I say the ‘Our Father’ prayer together, now”, After this prayer we recited together, Joe continued ,”My brother is a minister. I feel at peace when he comes to visit me”. “OK I will talk to the Medical Social Worker to call your brother for another visit. Be conscious that Jesus Christ is always beside you. No harm can come to you if you realize this.”
In my next visit the following week, Mr. Robinson’s medical condition was worsening. His left hand was swollen. His abdomen on the right side was profusely bleeding. I also recalled that my suggestions to him last week, on shutting down those evil voices in his mind. It was only a temporary solution. So I asked, “Do you still hear those evil voices talking to you?” “Not very much”, he replied. “They seem to be slowly fading away. I had some woman appear in my room this week. She told me not to be afraid. She also put a gauze here in my open wound and said the bleeding would stop. She also told me that Jesus Christ would be here beside me. This woman’s name was Sherry or Mary, I am not sure. I am more at peace now and I am not afraid. As I think about Jesus Christ, those evil voices are slowly leaving me.” Whether Joe had an illusion because these hospital nurses were regularly attending to him or he had some spiritual revelation, I do not know. The fact is he seemed to be mentally relieved of his anxiety. And so I continued, ”You are now realizing God is more powerful than those evil voices. Try to keep in constant communication with Jesus Christ. Just say what is in your heart.”
The following week, during my visit, Mr. Robinson was dozing on and off from consciousness. I realized he was delirious. His voice seems to grow weaker. “Joe, do you remember who I am? Let me say a prayer for you.” Mr. Robinson then countered, “Listen. Do you hear the voice of Jesus Christ? Now listen.” “These evil voices, are they still there?” “No, they are not there anymore. I hear the voice of Sherry.” Sherry was the woman in his mind to tell him not to worry. While I said a prayer for him, his eyes kept closing and alternately opening as if losing consciousness.
The week after, Mr. Robinson was feeling better. “Hey, I got good news. I have been granted Medical Parole. I am really happy about this. No, I do not hear those evil voices anymore. But I have this pain in my chest.” “Ask God to help you also in your physical pain.” “I know that. Jesus Christ is the only one that can really help me. Thanks for coming to see me.” During my visit, the head nurse and a ward nurse were attending to Mr. Robinson’s needs. He said to them, ”You are all not going to leave me are you? I am at peace now. I feel good inside.”
In my last visit, Mr. Robinson was very uncomfortable and his pains seem to aggravate. I believe he was dying. He was on oxygen, his open sores kept reappearing, and he would lapse into unconsciousness on and off. “Joe, don’t be afraid to die. Don’t loose your faith. Jesus Christ is here beside you keeping you company.” His last words were, “I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe….” His words started fading away.
The Corrections Medical Social personnel informed me Mr. Robinson was indeed discharged from the prison hospital under a Medical Parole status. Unfortunately he continued saying, Mr. Robinson died two days after his release. One comforting situation is that his mother and other close relatives were at his bedside when he died. He was at a Hospice house at that time.
posted by Antonio at 9:50 AM
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