Hospice Nurse Hears Terminal Patient’s Final Wish - Grants Request Unhesitatingly

Dec 15, 2020 by apost team

Death is a stressful process for everyone involved. It's incredibly painful for loved ones to be there and the dying person could be filled with fear of what's going to happen to them next. Even when you're lucky enough to be surrounded by loved ones when you pass, it's still a very isolating experience since you must go alone.

Mary Redmond was a singer and piano teacher her whole life. Music continued to be her source of comfort in her final days.

Mary has had hundreds of students throughout the decades. Her influence spreads all over the country as her students grow up and do incredible things with their lives.

Incredibly enough, one student worked at the hospice where she was being cared for. Joshua was Mary's student when he was only nine years old. They shared a bond with their mutual love of music that has carried on through the years.

Music can be empowering and unifying. In this case, Joshua was also able to show love and comfort Mary during her end. This clip of him singing to her will move you to tears.

Mary's final wish was to hear the song How Great Thou Art since it has been a source of comfort and strength for her throughout her life. Joshua is a great singer thanks to Mary, and he was happy to grant her dying wish. He wanted to deliver the best performance utilizing all of the skills Mary taught him as a child to send her off. He knew this is what she deserved.

Joshua stood right by Mary's side as he beautifully sang Mary's favorite song. You will notice that Mary seems to relax immediately after Joshua begins.

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Music makes a difference. Providing care like Joshua did for Mary can make such a positive change in the world. Mary unfortunately passed shortly after Joshua sang to her, but we can all take comfort in knowing that she was the happiest she could be.

It was Mary’s brother-in-law, James Redmond, who explained the student-teacher connection between Mary and Josh. He wrote in the comments: “This lady is my sister-in-law, Mary Redmond. Her former voice student and attending Hospice worker, Josh, sings to her as a gesture of goodwill and tender caring for his patient and former teacher.”

We all have to accept that death comes for everyone. Instead of being afraid, we can try to live our lives as passionately as Mary and go out in a peaceful way. Although Mary has passed, the knowledge she has given to all of her students will continue to be celebrated and passed on for generations.

The video, which currently has close to nine millions views, has touched a lot of people who have seen it. “I'm watching this and bawling my eyes out,” wrote one commenter. “Such kindness, compassion and love. He's a beautiful man. I can't stop crying, not for grief or hardship, but because of the rarity of wonderful men like him.”

“This touched my soul dearly. I am sorry for your loss,” wrote one Mona Crutcher. “It looked as though your sister-in-law was singing along with Josh. He did a beautiful thing. I pray that there are others like Josh who take the time to care for others like your sister-in-law as he did. God Bless.”

Hymns can bring comfort to us especially during hard times. The hymn How Great Thou Art is originally from Southern Sweden, written way back in 1886 by a Swedish composer named Carl Boburg. According to The St. Augustine Record, Boberg was a member of he Swedish parliament from 1912 to 1931. The hymn was introduced to different countries before it became popular in the United States.

“It was in 1885, and in the time of year when everything seemed to be in its richest coloring; the birds were singing in trees and wherever they could find a perch,” said Broberg of how the idea of How Great Thou Art came to him. “On a particular afternoon, some friends and I had been to Kronobäck where we had participated in an afternoon service. As we were returning a thunderstorm began to appear on the horizon. We hurried to shelter. There were loud claps of thunder, and the lightning flashed across the sky. Strong winds swept over the meadows and billowing fields of grain. However, the storm was soon over and the clear sky appeared with a beautiful rainbow.”

“After reaching my home, I opened my window toward the sea,” he continued. “The church bells were playing the tune of a hymn. That same evening I wrote a poem which I titled, ‘O Store Gud,’ (How Great Thou Art in Swedish).”

After the poem was written, it was made to become song lyrics and was set to a Swedish folk tune, The St. Augustine Record notes. In the early 1900s, the words were translated first from Swedish to German, before a Russian adaptation came along in 1912. 

It was British Methodist missionary Stuart K. Hine who gave the adaptation in English that is most well-known around the world today. Hine and his wife had gone to Poland as missionaries in the early 1920s when they learned of the Russian version of How Great Thou Art. Besides writing the original English lyrics, he also created his very own arrangement of the melody of the song. Additionally, he added a third verse.

Today, the hymn is heard everywhere, and not just in churches. It is a comforting and powerful reminder of hope - something we need especially in these tumultuous times.

This video had us here at APost reaching for the tissues! Did this video make you cry, too? Make sure your friends and family get to see this beautiful relationship.