In the middle of February, we got a referral for a GIP admission at a hospital for a gentleman from China, who was only in his forties and could not speak any English. His immediate family was still in China although he did have a brother and sister-in-law in the area. GIP was requested as he was very close to death and there were troubles managing his pain.
Surprisingly, he survived the weekend and started to improve. His wish was to go home to his brother's, so he did not have to die at the hospital. Debi worked with the call-in translators to help him get comfortable at home with his family and soon discovered that he wanted to be able to see his wife and three kids in China before he died.
However, there were many hurdles. Could he survive the plane ride? Would he be able to get out of the country with a pandemic going on and airlines shutting down? And could he get adequate pain management in China, a culture that emphasizes keeping your pain to yourself? His father died in China, and died in a lot of pain, and this patient did not want to have to go through that. Debi went above and beyond to research, work with the family in the US and in China, worked with the doctors in the US and China, as well as the US Embassy, and was able to get him on the last plane leaving to go to China.
Today we got word that he did pass away today with his family at his bedside. Because of the preparation, he was comfortable his entire time he had spent with his family. I truly believe stories like this are why we all do what we do. There were many hurdles during a difficult time worldwide, and they were able to work together to help this gentleman and his family to find the peace they needed and deserved.