Today is the first day of Lent, a day on which Christians are reminded that we are “dust and unto dust we shall return”.
Ernie, who calls me Bro, needs no such reminders. Yesterday, the defibrillator planted inside his chest discharged seven times. His beloved medical profession can do no more to help him. Blessedly, he is out of the hospital, back at home, and in the devoted care of my sister, their beloved children, and the skilled hospice nurses. It is only a matter of time.
Ernie is one of my heroes, a true giant of a man. He is one of those rare individuals who light up a room by their very presence, engage each one with genuine interest, and make each person feel better about themselves in the process. A skilled Ear, Nose and Throat Physician (or as he would say, “no eyes”), Ernie has used his 81 years to heal, ennoble, and love.
As a healer, he used his skills to cure thousands of people throughout the Philadelphia area. With his engaging people skills, he became president of his hospital and broadened both its skill set and its scope. He constantly worked to raise the bar of his profession, urging his peers on to higher standards.
With his firm belief in their strengths and capabilities, he also challenged his own children to be true to the nobility of their talents. Their many achievements rewarded his belief, and he exploded with enthusiasm and delight at their successes.
As with all of us, Ernie recognizes that the greatest gift he has received is his life and the greatest thing he can do with that life is to commit acts of selfless love. He has not been shy with that love, and has given it freely to my sister, to his family, and even to me.
My Bro has gone before me in this aging process. He struggled through the indignities of Guillain-Barré syndrome to the point where he was not only able to walk again, but learned to adapt his excellent golf swing. A fighter by nature, he has faced aging boldly, staying involved and donating his medical skills to free clinics.
Now he is playing the end game, and I am still learning. I know he is as afraid of the unknown as any of us would be, but I also know that he will face it courageously, peacefully, with style and love. Despite the unknown, I do believe that his love is too intense not to persist.
Thanks for the lead and the lessons, Bro. When it’s my time, I hope I can follow with just a bit of your character, strength, and love.
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