HEN I THINK about the number of hours worked by our dedicated volunteers in the OR and Critical Care waiting areas of CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Memorial, I realize that time alone cannot capture the essence of care these volunteers provide. Their dedication is apparent in the hundreds of steps they take, constantly walking up and down hospital hallways and in and out of nursing units to gather information in an effort to keep patients’ families well-informed and to answer their questions. It is also evidenced in the many silent prayers they offer for patients and families, in a tender, caring glance, or unspoken word.

A log of volunteer hours worked cannot capture the pride and care we take in keeping waiting areas quiet and orderly so that nurses and other caregivers are able to give patients their undivided attention.

At times, I ask myself why I continue to volunteer. Maybe it is the feeling I get when I hear heartfelt sighs of relief from family members who listen attentively to reassuring words spoken softly by the physician who tells them that their son or mother will survive. It is an indescribable euphoria, a feeling of peace that washes over me knowing that in so many cases, a miracle has occurred. In fact, miracles occur daily here in the OR/Critical Care waiting areas of CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Memorial.

Or perhaps I continue to volunteer simply to be close to other volunteers who give selflessly to people they have never even met. These guardian angels—volunteers who devote their precious time, day after day, year after year, in that waiting area, comforting strangers in need—are now eternally bonded.

Again, I ask myself, why continue to volunteer after 36 years? What a foolish question! Instead, I should be asking everyone I pass in the hallways… why aren’t you volunteering, so you, too, can see and be a part of all the miracles that occur here at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Memorial?

Audrey Spanutius
volunteer
CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Memorial
Corpus Christi, Texas