The National Association of Catholic Chaplains

Menu
  • Membership
      • Apply for Membership
      • Frequently-Asked Questions about Membership
      • Request Retired Membership
      • State Liaisons
      • Newest Members
      • Membership Directory
      • Member map
      • Celebrating Our Members’ 25-year Membership and Certification
      • In Memoriam: deceased NACC members
    • Close
  • Certification
    • Initial Board Certification
      • Board Certified Chaplain (BCC)
      • Certified Associate Chaplain (CAC)
      • Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (PCHAC)
      • VA Initial Board Certification
      • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
      • Newly Certified Chaplains
      • Close
    • Renewal of Certification
    • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Important Background on NACC Certification Competencies
      • Professional Code of Ethics for Spiritual Care Professionals
      • Certification Commission
      • Certification Appeals Panel
      • Ethics Appeals Panel
      • Close
    • Mentors
    • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
    • Verifying Certification
    • Maintaining Certification in Retirement
    • Graduate Theological Programs
    • Close
  • Education Resources
      • 2023 National Conference
      • 2023 Webinar Series
      • Recorded webinars (2009-2022)
      • Calendar of Events
      • Graduate Theological Programs
      • CPE Programs
      • NACC Professional Networking Calls
      • Continuing Education Hour Requests – Guidelines and Forms
      • Ongoing Educational Opportunities
      • Local/Regional Gatherings & Events
      • Past Conferences (2004 – 2022)
      • Vision
    • Close
  • Resources
    • Antiracism Resources
    • Administrator Resources
    • Awareness Resources
    • Chaplaincy Care Resources
    • Coronavirus Resources & Updates
    • Job Listings
    • The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Research
    • Specialty Care Resources
    • Spirituality and Prayer Resources
    • Spiritual Care Department Resources
    • Vision
    • Close
  • About NACC
    • About the NACC
      • Mission/Vision/Values
      • Constitution and ByLaws
      • Strategic Plan
      • History
      • Close
    • Annual Awards
    • Association Leadership
      • NACC Board of Directors
      • Committees, Commissions, and Panels
      • National Office Staff
      • Episcopal Advisory Council
      • Close
    • Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC)
    • Choose Chaplaincy
    • Health Care Collaborators
    • NACC Merchandise
    • NACC Publications and Documents
      • Vision
      • NACC Now
      • Annual Reports & Financial Reviews
      • Documents and publications
      • NACC Blog
      • Close
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Partners for Professional Excellence in Spiritual Care
    • Vision
    • Close
  • Choose Chaplaincy
  • Contact Us
      • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    • Close
  • Donate Now
  • Member Login
Home » Vision » September-October 2016 » Native American father gets chance to die with the sun on his face

Native American father gets chance to die with the sun on his face

By Bob Barnes

The patient, an elderly Native American man, was dying. He was lying in an ICU bed, being kept alive by a ventilator, his life slowly ebbing away. As the unit chaplain, I had spoken briefly with his daughter, Ann (not her real name), a few times as she wrestled with difficult life-and-death decisions. She hadn’t wanted anything.
vision logo sept-oct 2016
On this particular day I was paged to his bedside. Unlike the previous times, Ann was not alone. Several siblings and nieces were also present. Ann told me she had finally decided to withdraw the ventilator. As we sat together contemplating the enormity of this moment for her, a cousin spoke up. “Did you ask him yet?” Ann shook her head.

“Ask me what?” I inquired.

“Oh, nothing. It will never be allowed. Never mind.”

“Well, I can’t possibility know if it’s allowable unless I know what it is.”

Ann took a long, deep breath. She proceeded to talk in great detail about her father’s life, his values, how he spent all of his time outdoors, and how he would never want to die indoors lying in a bed. “If we could just get him outside for even a few minutes, so he could feel the sun on his face. It wouldn’t have to be long, and then we could remove the life support. I know it would mean so much to him, even if he’s not awake.”

I told Ann that I did not know if this would be possible, but that it was worth asking.

I knew that we had a rooftop patio for staff, and that the weather this day was unseasonably warm for springtime in the North. The difficulty was the ventilator and fact that such a thing had never been tried. “Let me see what I can do.”
I asked the patient’s nurse and the charge nurse if they could move the patient to the roof on the vent and withdraw it there. Knowing the patient’s values, both were very excited by the plan but feared that it would not be allowed. Nonetheless, they wanted to try. Together we talked to the family.

The charge nurse literally took charge at this point. She proceeded to get all the necessary permissions, including from the physicians involved, the unit manager, administration, and the legal department. She arranged to have two nurses accompany the patient, and to have a respiratory therapist present for the transfer and extubation. Security asked all staff to vacate the patio so the family could have privacy. The arrangements came together incredibly fast considering their complexity.

Ann and her family thanked the staff profusely for showing such respect for their culture.

At the appointed hour, a very strange-looking caravan moved through the corridors and up the elevator: the patient in his bed, a respiratory therapist at his side blowing air through the vent tube, two nurses, 15 family members and me. The weather was warm and pleasant as we emerged onto the patio, with the sun shining brightly overhead. Someone shouted, “Look, an eagle” and pointed straight up. We all imagined that we could see this important symbol for their culture.

After prayers at the bedside with the family and staff, the ventilator tube was removed. The family members crowded close, holding the patient and talking to him until he died very peacefully about 10 minutes later, the sun still shining brightly on his face.

We all lingered on the patio with the patient and family for some time afterward. Many commented that the patient would never have wanted to die in a hospital, but if he had to do so, that was the way he would have wanted to go. Ann and her family thanked the staff profusely for showing such respect for their culture and for giving them, and her father, what they felt was an incredible final gift. “You can’t possibly know how important this was to us.”

Bob Barnes, BCC, is a staff chaplain at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, MN.

The National Association of Catholic Chaplains
Become a Member Would you like to get Certified?

Free Publications

Don’t miss the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter today! You don’t have to be a member to subscribe.

National Association of Catholic Chaplains
4915 S. Howell Avenue, Suite 501
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Get Directions

Phone: (414) 483-4898
Fax: (414) 483-6712
Email: info@nacc.org

Our office hours
Mon-Thur 8:00am – 5:00pm Central Time
Friday 8:00am – 12 Noon
Sat-Sun closed

Job Listings

Current job opportunities for chaplains, priests, CPE residents, supervisors, directors of pastoral care, managers, mission directors, and more.

Job Listings

Free Publications

Don’t miss the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter today! You don’t have to be a member to subscribe.

Donate Now

Learn more about making a tax-deductible donation to NACC.

Donate Now

Connect with us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
© 1997 - 2023 National Association of Catholic Chaplains - Sitemap

Built by Westwords