Maddee-

Maddee turns 10.

every other Tuesday she leads me out of my comfort zone into Beaumont Hospital where she non-judgmentally comforts all of those around her. She travels through a family waiting room with dignified caring eyes and hugs that could fill an ocean. She, if for only for a moment takes a family’s concerning thoughts away from the loved one they are there for. I find myself out of my comfort zone often when we visit. Each morning before we arrive I call to learn about what patients have asked us for a visit on that day. We never know where our travels will take us. We go everywhere we are asked: ICU, Psych , Hospice, Cancer, Children. I see so much that I do not want to see. Maddee pulls me through. This past Tuesday we visited an individual for the second time in ICU. Two week ago she was on a ventilator; only her eyes could move. There were so many tubes and machines around her, I did not know how we could be of any help. So Maddee put her front paws as close as I could get them next to her hand where was inserted a tube. I took her hand and gently rubbed it against Maddee’s beautiful coat. There was little to no response. Before I left, I taped the below picture on one of the feeding bags hanging in front of her. I told her that the little one, “Miss Sophie”, was in training to do the same as her big sister someday. I left her room in silence. This Tuesday when I called for our assignments, she was still there. I searched through my photography collection and pulled a number of prints: sunsets, birds, squirrels; anything that I thought could make her day a better day. We arrive; her ventilator was now gone. Maddee said her hello and I pulled out my dozen or so pictures. One by one in silence, we traveled through a world that she had not seen in quite some time; the outdoors. I could sense she felt something. Then came a faint movement. Her lips moved; she smiled. With that I knew that Maddee and I did what we came to do. As we left that day out of her room, out of the ICU unit and on our way to our next assignment, I got on my knees and hugged this precious bundle. Without her beside me, never could I have done what I did on this day.