When Chris Morgan got to the Angela Hospice Care Center, he felt a sense of relief. But his journey to get there was not an easy one.
After suffering a heart attack, Chris had been hospitalized. “They tore me up and told me that I had a heart problem,” Chris said. He was prescribed medication and sent on his way. But after a series of subsequent hospitalizations, Chris was frustrated and angry. Still, he didn’t realize just how serious his illness was. “Until that rude doctor blurted it out,” he explained. “Because I was raising a function, I was cutting up…But he blurted it out, ‘Well, you only have six months to a year to live.’ Huh, wait? That’s something hard to swallow.” Chris was overwhelmed. He felt caught off guard, and wished he could have known the truth about his condition earlier. “I feel like they mishandled me,” he said. “Because they were aware that my heart was going to get worse.” Suddenly, Chris was feeling like it was too late, like there was nothing that could be done. And because he needed around the clock care, he couldn’t go home. But then he found out about Angela Hospice. At first Chris rejected the idea, thinking it would be too expensive, but then the hospital social worker gave him some good news. “I found out my insurance would cover all of it, pay my rent, pay my board. I went for it. I dived straight to it,” Chris said. There was one room open and Chris was determined it was his. “Prayer changes a lot,” he said. “I prayed and asked God, ‘It’s in your hands. You show me where you want me to go.’ But after the door started opening, I jumped.” Chris said he was happy with his decision to come to Angela Hospice, especially when his family was able to visit from out of state. “It put a smile on my face when I got here,” he said. “Everybody in here loves me, all my nurses, my cook. They send so much love in this room, it’s just overflowing. I’m just bursting with it.” Chris still has his struggles. But he relies on faith and hope to get him through the tough times. “I got some more to do before I let this world go,” he said. “I wasn’t everybody to be in place.”
Chris hopes to see his son CJ graduate college, and would love to walk his daughter Christina down the aisle. But he also wants the chance to tell his story, in hopes that it will help someone else who is going through something similar. “I just want to encourage people, keep strong in your faith,” Chris said. “Faith will get you through.”
