Visiting a Hospital

An elderly lady in our church (which meets at a nursing home) fell and broke her hip on Friday (at the same Wal-Mart, about the same time I was also there). The Lord put it on my heart to visit her on Sunday afternoon – so my brother and I drove the hour to the hospital she was in (a beautiful, state of the art facility!). I brought a supply of tracts, several New Testaments, my Bible, and a balloon pump and balloons.

During the visit we talked, prayed, read Scripture, and I made up some balloon flowers. She was encouraged by us taking the time to stop by – even though she was in a lot of pain!

Following that we stopped by the nurse’s station and asked if they had anyone else on the floor that might be interested in a balloon or two. She introduced us to an elderly lady and we talked while I made some balloons. Afterwards I asked if she had a Christian background (she did), and I said I had some gospel tracts that she might enjoy reading (people in hospitals don’t have much else to do). I left her with a few tracts and checked back in at the nurse’s station. The nurse that was there said all the other nurses were gone right then and suggested we check in at the nurse’s station at the other end of the floor.

On the way down we passed a room with an open door and noticed an older gentlemen sitting in the bed reading the paper. I stopped, stepped in, and asked if he’d like a balloon. He wondered who the balloon was for, and I asked his name. It was Mike. I said the balloon was for Mike – so we talked and I made a few balloons. He was lonely (no family) and grateful for the visit. I left him with some tracts (and the balloons).

We went on to the next nurse’s station and when I explained I had some time if they knew of someone that wanted a balloon, the nurse jokingly said she would – so, I gave her a million dollar bill tract (which she was grateful for). She checked one room and the lady wasn’t available, but suggested we head into a different room and visit bed #2.

The room had a number of people in it (both beds were occupied and both people had visitors). It is a little bit disconcerting to walk into a room of strangers! I did so (walking past bed #1 and around the curtain to bed #2 – asking if it was OK for us to come on in) and said I had just finished visiting a friend with a broken hip, and that I had a few extra minutes and some spare balloons, and that the nurse had suggested we stop in – I said I’d make him a balloon unless he was too old for those types of things. He laughed and said he definitely was too old, but was interested in one anyways. I introduced myself and my brother and found out his name – along with his visitors (family members). We talked and laughed while I attempted to make a deer balloon (it was a deer with antlers, front legs, and a body – but no back legs or tail since I ran out of balloon!) and then made a parrot. After the visit I asked if he had a Christian background and offered some tracts. I said they were Biblically based and weren’t from a cult or anything weird – he was very interested. They were grateful for the visit, balloons, and tracts, as we headed out…

We stopped then at bed #1 and did the same routine – explained why we were there, introduced ourselves, and asked if he would like a balloon. We again talked and laughed while doing some balloons and then left them with some gospel tracts before heading out.