Old age, in particular, is a time of grace, in which the Lord will renew his call. Homes for the elderly should be ‘lungs’ of humanity in a country, in a neighborhood, in a parish; ‘sanctuaries’ of humanity where those who are old and weak are cared for and taken care of like a brother or a sister. –Pope Francis
Margaret Smith was admitted to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center after suffering from liver cancer for a year, and nurse Olivia Neufelder sang her favorite song to her every day until she passed away recently.
Margaret had confided to Nurse Olivia that “Dancing in the Sky” by Dani and Lizzy was not only her favorite song, but the song she wanted played at her funeral. As her health continued to fail, Margaret was not left alone; Olivia stayed by her bedside, singing this song with her, for hours.
The video, posted by Margaret’s daughter, has garnered 3.5 million views. Margaret’s daughter posted the video to express her gratitude to Olivia for being with her mother when she couldn’t be. The kindness and dedication that she showed to her patient is the kind that can never be adequately rewarded. When so many elderly people suffer alone, dedicated caregivers like Olivia know just how valuable their care truly is.
You can watch Olivia sing to Margaret in this video:
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