New Year's Eve

           I walked into the empty hospital lobby a little before 7:00 pm on December 31^st and made my way to the chaplain offices.  The chaplain on duty met me to hand over the chaplain beeper for the night.  “I’ll be praying for a quiet night,” he said as the door closed behind him.  With that prayer, I attached the beeper to my belt and prepared for a New Years Eve as the chaplain on duty of Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas. 

            I headed into the hospital, starting with the Emergency Room.  When I entered, I found a festive atmosphere.  The multi-disciplined staff wore “Happy New Years” buttons on their scrubs.  Patients dressed for New Year’s parties already filled the rooms and waiting area.  Laughter spilled from the charge desk as nurses prepared for a busy night.  The charge nurse – a friend of mine – looked over at me and asked, “Chaplain – do you want to participate in our pool?  Put in a dollar and take a guess at the highest blood alcohol we will see tonight.”  Knowing nothing about blood alcohol levels, I made a guess, placed in my dollar and forgot about it.  Walking to the next unit, I laughed at the staff’s dark humor that allowed them to care night after night to a city of hurting people. 

            Around 11:00 p.m. my beeper rang, sending me to the bone marrow transplant unit.   A relieved nurse spotted me and quickly directed me to a patient who was actively dying.  I introduced myself to the family, sat with them for a while and then led them in prayer.  As the only chaplain in the hospital, I pleaded with my beeper not to break the holiness of the moment and take me away.  Exactly at midnight, as I knew the rest of the city celebrated a New Year, I stood with this family as they blessed their loved one goodbye. 

            I spent the rest of the night waiting for the next beeper call which never came.  Around 6:45 a.m. I made my way back to the ER to say goodbye and congratulate the winner of the pool.  As I walked into the unit, I found the night shift circled around the charge desk briefing their refreshed-looking morning replacements on the patients still in the rooms.  The conversations quickly ceased.  They began clapping and whistling.  I stood perplexed until my friend announced to everyone, “Chaplain Eric, congratulations – you won our blood alcohol pool.”  Grinning, she handed me an envelope and winked. 

            This New Years many first responders in our community will be at work keeping us safe, caring for our loved ones and waiting for the next call while the rest of us celebrate.  This weekend let me invite you to say a prayer for them, thank them when you see them in the community, and remember them standing on duty when the ball drops, the music plays, and the confetti floats down!  Happy New Year!