Wednesday, January 18, 2023
In 2007 I contracted capnocytophagia; both legs turned gangrenous and had to be amputated, and I lingered for some weeks between life and death in RUH before surgery could be undertaken. While it was a difficult and depressing time in my life, perhaps best forgotten, I shall never forget how Martha would come by each morning with an armful of newspapers for us. While the medical care I received was excellent, I needed something more: I needed spiritual care. And that I received in abundance from this wonderful human being, who spoke never a word but brightened each day for me with the radiance of her smile as she handed me a copy of the StarPhoenix.
I myself had done a fair amount of palliative volunteering over the years and treasured what I learned from her: the ministry of unspoken kindness. God bless you, Martha; all of us in that ward loved you!.
Jim Komar
Grosvenor Park United Church
