Today did not turn out to be exactly the way that I thought it would. Looking at the itinerary earlier this morning, I figured that today would end with me being physically and mentally exhausted. However, after all the activities were done, I felt mentally refreshed and relieved especially due to our visit at the Good Samaritan. More specifically, I was touched by the Good Samaritan due to the level of maturity they had for the understanding of death and their excellence in aiding patients mentally and physically.

On the maturity side, the Good Samaritan was very genuine and open-minded about the idea of death. Growing up, my family and I would at times have deep talks about the conclusion of life and its meaning. However, the presenter today made me analyze death on a level beyond my previous understanding. For example, he talked about the patient that recently passed away – Ezequiel, which completely brought me to tears. To summarize Ezequiel’s story with the hospice, he was a very troubled adult of 24 years old that suffered terminal back cancer. When the Good Samaritan first took him in, he felt angry and was in disbelief, he was in conflict with his family, himself, and with God. However, after the Good Samaritan treated Ezequiel, he became content, genuine, and peaceful. I was curious as suppose to what Ezequiel said before he passed away, but the presenter told me that he was so peaceful and accepting that he simply laid there and celebrated the last moments of his life. This was a very refreshing and emotional story to me as it contracts my grandpa’s last moments significantly. Before my grandpa passed away, he was in pain and the people around him were not mature enough to treat it as a celebration of life but instead the brutal fact of facing death. His death left me feeling angry, confused, and unsatisfied. However, today’s visit to the hospice offered me a new perspective to the celebration of life. I learned that it was not suppose to be painful and filled with agony, but instead with acceptance and peacefulness. This was an absolutely transformational experience. I am beyond lucky to have been able to experienced this with the people that cared for me.