Chicago area hospital chaplain, 85, helps patients even after her own health scare
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) – She went from provider to patient.
The script got flipped on a north suburban hospital employee who suddenly needed surgery. The senior citizen could be home resting, but CBS 2's Lauren Victory explained what motivated her to get right back to work.
At Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, a stranger was in the room.
Pat Handley didn't feel like an outsider, even though one family just met her in the intensive care unit less than 24 hours before a recent visit.
"Jesus is waiting right there with his arms open saying, 'Welcome home,'" Handley said to the family.
Chaplain Handley provides comfort in uncertain times.
"It's a gift of presence that we bring with us," she said. "A chaplain can go into a patient's room and just sit as long as is needed. As a nurse, I couldn't do that."
Once walking halls as a medical professional, Handley returned to hospital work after decades as a pastor.
It's a resume that resonates.
"Whether we have a religion or not, we're all spiritual," she said.
Handley carves out time on each shift to check in on employees, too. They told CBS 2 that she makes them feel appreciated.
Dr. Micah Eimer noticed the healer needed healing as well.
"We crossed paths, and she looked short of breath," he said.
That symptom made the cardiologist suspicious of a heart problem in need of urgent attention. It turned out one of her heart valves, which was surgically replaced in 2012, had a tear, something that could be deadly.
"Would we be able to fix this without open heart surgery?" Eimer said. "Which, fortunately, we were. Allowing her to give back to the floors and take care of patients right away."
Right away was not an exaggeration. Chaplain Handley was back at it within a week.
"I had nothing else to do!" she said. "What else would I do? And I have so much to give, and there's need."
She goes to cardio rehab to build up her strength and energy.
"I had no stamina, and that was very discouraging for me," Handley said. "I would walk from one room to another, and I'd have to sit down."
She was on the mend, like many of her patients. It's given her a unique perspective of being the caregiver and being cared for.
"I left with a heart of gratitude, so I understood when this family we saw today said, 'We're so grateful for the care we'v received,'" Handley said. "Yeah, I've been the recipient of that."
She's working hard to keep working, and at 85 years old, CBS 2 had to ask if the word "retirement" was in her vocabulary.
"What?" Handley said. "What? Retirement? Are you kidding?"
As long as God allows, her heart is at the hospital.