I was a stranger

Articles in the Wall Street Journal don’t always tug at your heart. But one this morning did. It is worth the read.

It told the story of a disabled man whose aging mother required long term hospital care in Texas. There was no one to care for the man. Up stepped a hospital clinical care person named Beth Lambdin who arranged for Kent Dromgoole to stay in the same room as his mother for a few nights. When that ran out she called a friend who runs a high end care facility who put him in for more than a week at no cost.

That too ran its course. Next stop was in the hospital for a few more days of treatment for a minor condition. It appears Kent’s mother will not be going back to her home which means Kent has no where to go. What’s left?

Ms. Lambdin has become the defacto caregiver which means he could end up moving in with her family. She continues to search for an appropriate local residence for Kent. Nationwide there are 2.9 million people with intellectual or developmental disabilities living with aging caregivers–mostly parents. There is very little social safety net under these situations when the parents get to where they cannot care for them. State funding for these situations lags behind the need.

Beth Lamdin has gone above and beyond to help Kent. She is an example of Christ’s words in Matthew 25:35, “”For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;”

I hope Beth winds up running this hospital some day.