A technology priest connects families with dying patients

In this April 15, 2020 photo, Father Gabriel Gnome, PsyD. , Mdiv. Boca Raton, GCC, talks about his role in palliative care and recent rituals at the JFK Medical Center during an interview at St. Nicholas Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Delray Beach, Florida. For many Florida residents, life continues to stay at home that lasts at least until mid-May. Father Gnome called on his cell phone, which grieves his family when he delivers the secret of the sick to those close to death from COVID-19. (Thomas Cordi / Palm Beach Post via AP) less
In this photo on April 15, 2020, Father Gabriel Gnome, PsyD. , Mdiv. Boca Raton, GCC, talks about his role in palliative care and recent rituals at JFK Medical Center during an interview at St. Nicolas Melkite Greek … more

Photo: Thomas Cordy, AP

In this April 15, 2020 photo, Father Gabriel Gnome, PsyD. , Mdiv. Boca Raton, GCC, talks about his role in palliative care and recent rituals at the JFK Medical Center during an interview at St. Nicholas Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Delray Beach, Florida. For many Florida residents, life continues to stay at home that lasts at least until mid-May. Father Gnome called on his cell phone, which grieves his family when he delivers the secret of the sick to those close to death from COVID-19. (Thomas Cordi / Palm Beach Post via AP) less
In this photo on April 15, 2020, Father Gabriel Gnome, PsyD. , Mdiv. Boca Raton, GCC, talks about his role in palliative care and recent rituals at JFK Medical Center during an interview at St. Nicolas Melkite Greek … more

Photo: Thomas Cordy, AP

A technology priest connects families with dying patients

Atlantis, Florida (AP) – The priest’s mobile phone pulverized again while he was visiting coronavirus patients.

An hour earlier that day, April 1, he had performed another ritual of another COVID-19 patient at JFK Medical Center. But now it is needed again, in another room in the ICU.

So Priest Gabriel Gnome repeated his routine – very formal, courageous and tragic – as a modest, tech-savvy hospital chaplain on the front lines of the coronavirus.

He slipped his hands after cleaning him inside the surgical glove. He pulled the hospital gown over the cleric’s collar. He covered his face with protective masks.

As he entered a room where the only sounds were the sound of the ventilator and his tinnitus, he took out his smartphone. It was closed inside a transparent sandwich bag.

By pressing the buttons through the plastic, he called a woman in Austin, Texas, and her Atlanta brother corrected the call and put it on the speakerphone.

With his left hand, he raised the phone over the face of Tom Krasion, 77, a swimmer in his heyday now in the final moments of a losing battle with deadly respiratory diseases.

His gloved hands hold Craciun’s hand, recited the mystery of the sick – “Our Lord Jesus Christ who promised through the Apostle Jacob, is there anyone among you? …”

When it was over, he stood in silence. Goodbye voices said the sorrows of children and grandchildren screaming from his phone from the isolation of their homes in two different states.

Then the priest hung his phone. Alone now with a nurse and patient, he sang through his face mask a spiritual hymn – “I decided to follow Jesus … I will not go back … The world is behind me, the cross is before me …”

The priest later recalls: “I kept singing until his last breath.

When it was over, after Craciun “moved peacefully” (not saying the word “died”), the priest returned to the main floor and tucked his phone inside his pocket.

About an hour later, you will be off again.

“He came from heaven.”

Father Gabriel, as he became known as Gnome in his nine years as a pastor of John Kennedy Hospital, has an angel’s name. This is exactly what it is for many sad relatives who were prevented from hospital due to the strict visitor ban due to the risk of COVID-19.

Unable to physically exist in the last moments of a lovable person, at least they get some semblance of closure, hypothetical but emotional, thanks to the brave and selfless act of a man they have never met.

“The daughter of the most magnificent priest, like his descent from heaven,” said Nancy Jean-Pierce, daughter of Crissian.

But Father Gabriel is also a 67-year-old human and not immune to an invisible disease that has killed more than 100 people, most of them elderly, in Palm Beach County since March 14.

Twenty-one of the 112 deaths in the county were at John F. Kennedy Airport, according to records from the Palm Beach County Medical Examination Bureau. Gnome said that he performed the last ritual for about 10 COVID patients in the hospital.

He said: “Every experience is very humble and very powerful, because you know the legacy, the stories, the death, but also the living. You become the curator of spiritual and emotional archives.”

It’s also dangerous.

All over the world, including South Florida, COVID-19 claimed that people are fighting it on the front lines – doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, and even spiritual advisors. In Italy, the first western center of the disease after the virus was first discovered in Wuhan, China, in December, nearly 100 priest died of COVID-19.

Gnome said he was not aware of local priests who may have died after contracting the disease while praying with patients with the Coronavirus.

But he said he considered it not only his duty, but a privilege to cover up protective personal equipment and work alongside “brave doctors and nurses at John F. Kennedy Airport.”

He said: “The moment you are afraid, you cannot approach.” “You have to trust what you do. The main goal is to bring a family that cannot see their loved ones and tell them,” We are together. You’re not alone.'”

“Nobody dies alone”

In many hospitals, clergy provide counseling and prayer through the safety of the phone or behind the door, without risking a disease that silently and suddenly strikes.

Gnome said that he respects his spiritual peers who take such precautions. He prefers a more creative approach, one that uses technology to prevent what he calls “separation disease” and to promote the slogan of John F. Kennedy during the crisis: “No one dies alone.”

He said: “If my beloved is in the hospital and I cannot see or attend with them, this increases my suffering.” “When families are separated from loved ones, they can become like illness.”

The epidemic forced John P Kennedy ‘s palliative care team, headed by Gnome, to “innovate” and “think outside the box.”

“COVID changed everything,” he said. “There is a new reality.”

Where technology and spirituality intersect.

Using his smartphone and apps like Zoom and FaceTime as stationery, Ghanoum acts as a “sentimental agent” between death and their immediate family, who can actually watch or listen while managing the last rituals in the intensive care room.

He said: “I put myself in their shoes and put them in so they could participate in it.” “We become a human being on behalf of the person loved abroad, whether they are local, or like the (Craciun) family in Austin, or anywhere else.”

He said he attempted this for the first time in early March, with relatives of an uninfected patient outside the city who was dying at John F. Kennedy Airport. Encouraged by the positive response from the family, he decided to retry after the hospital closed.

He has done this about 15 times, mostly with coronavirus patients.

Feeling Prudent

Yes, Gnome admits that the operation requires him to stand on the side of seriously ill patients. But he notes that other members of the John F. Kennedy team are already doing so.

And he said in a thick accent with his Egyptian roots: “If the nurses, doctors and respirators are in the front line, then I should be there too.”

He said he follows the same protocols as doctors and nurses. He wears a medical dress, a “rabbit suit”, footprints, and two face masks, including the N-95 mask – a process that takes about 15 minutes.

Smiling, he said, “It is fear of wisdom, not fear of madness.”

When he enters the intensive care room, he looks like a doctor or nurse, not a priest. (He is a licensed psychiatrist with a Ph.D from Theological Theological Seminary in Mishawaka, Indiana, so he likes to think that he hasn’t gone too far from his JFK counterparts.)

“In my pocket, in a blessing bag, I carry a blessed rosary in Rome. This pocket pink gives me strength.”

His presence at John F. Kennedy Airport provides inspiration to doctors and nurses, many of whom have turned to tears because of the COVID losses. Some pray with Gnome during their seizures. He leads four-minute meditation exercises that have become essential outlets.

“Father Gabriel, you are a blessing. Thank you for your interest,” said Suzanne Hanson, doctor John Kennedy, on his page on LinkedIn earlier this month.

“I am always in awe,” said Rabbi Joanna Trakt, a member of the Palliative Care team at John F. Kennedy.

Earthquake survivors

Coronary virus pandemic is not the first time that it has faced danger and death.

In 1985, seven years before his appointment, Gabriel Gnome was a CEO of a 32-year-old bank based in Mexico City. After midnight on one of September, he returned home from a business trip in Europe, three hours late due to flight delays.

He was looking forward to taking a vacation the next day. However, he was restless from the disturbances of long flights, he could not sleep. At 6:30 a.m., after tossing and turning, he decided to head to his downtown office, about 30 minutes away, to check mail and phone messages and have breakfast.

He said: “I didn’t have to work that day, but I followed my instincts. Something was telling me to move.”

When he approached the city center, he heard what looked like a bomb. While the neighboring buildings were collapsing from an 8-magnitude earthquake violence, he jumped from his car and ran to the Palacio de Bellas Artes Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) for protection.

The earthquake lasted 13 seconds and killed more than 5,000 people.

After the survivors were pulled from the rubble, he learned that his house had been destroyed, his dog killed, and crushed by the collapse of a nearby building.

He asked what would happen to him if he had slept the night before.

“The earthquake in Mexico was a turning point for me,” he said. “I was wondering about the purpose and meaning of my life.”

The idea of ​​priesthood, which he considered a teenager, took root. Within a few years, he sold his property and went to the institute’s school. By 1993 he was painted at St. Jude Catholic Church in Miami, where he stayed for 18 years.

“I have never regretted my decision,” said Gnome, now head of the pastor at the St. Nicholas Catholic Church at Delray Beach.

Three in one day, twice in the same week

At JFK, where he became chaplain in 2010, Gnome leads a group call every morning with doctors and nurses on the palliative care team.

They discuss the progress of the patients of COVID-19, updates that give the priest an idea of ​​who to visit first. Many days are difficult and intense.

Trakt, who limits her access to coronavirus patients and families over the phone, said: “We are used to entering, often we can win and someone gets better and we see the family happy and cheerful.”

“But with COVID numbers, it makes it much more difficult to see someone getting better and see a family able to celebrate,” she said.

Since the epidemic began killing people in Palm Beach County, Gnome said two days have emerged as “heavy” and “difficult”.

On April 1, he presented the last rites to three patients, one before and after Craciun.

Three days later, on April 4, he did this to three other patients, including Jose Diaz Ayala, a sergeant in Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The office tweeted a picture, taken by Gnome, of John Kennedy doctors and nurses standing over an American flag in honor of Ayala.

Because of the laws protecting personal medical information, Gnome said he could not locate or discuss other COVID-19 patients he prayed with, saying only that he had arranged for some families to watch him running the last ritual on FaceTime.

“Very humble experience”

The priest said that he got to know many other families. He helped make funeral arrangements and collect the belongings of their loved ones.

He said that Ayala’s relatives thanked him for his sympathy and asked him to rule at his funeral later.

Two days before Craciun’s death, at Ghanoum’s suggestion, Craciun’s daughter and son, along with their children, made audio recordings of their personal farewell to the dying man.

From their homes in Texas and Georgia, they sent letters to Gnome, who played the recordings on his phone, who carried him next to Crecion’s ear before his death. On a ventilator, Craciun was barely conscious, but Gnome said he felt the dying man’s hand, as one of the grandchildren said goodbye.

He said “I have broken down.” “I cried.”

After playing the sound recordings, Gnome called Pearce and her brother, put them on the megaphone and ran the last rituals of their father. Offer to use FaceTime but Craciun kids refused.

John Paul Crasson of Atlanta said the experience was “so strange that you feel like dreaming about it.” “It is fanciful to lose a family member and not be with him.”

But he also said that he and his sister express their profound gratitude for the invaluable service that Gnome gave them.

One day, when the epidemic is gone, Craciun’s children plan to invite Ghanoum to dinner at her father’s home, South Palm Beach, which John Paul inherited.

“It was a very humble blessing and experience,” Gnome said, and he relaxed every night at his Boca Raton apartment by listening to Gregorian, Byzantine, opera and classical chants.

He said: “This story is not about me.” “This is about” us “, how can you do good and see good in others. I hope it will inspire others to do good in the world.”

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos

Picture Credit!