Maxime--October 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Dear Doctors,
Maxime Petion is a 21-year old that was operated at OSF in 2002. He had a #27 CE pericardial valve put in his mitral position.
He has done well in Haiti until this year. He had a CVA on Oct. 5 which hit his speech center in his left cortex. He is much improved from a neuro standpoint. He talks and walks on his own. His strength is good in his right arm and leg 4/5. His speech is very good. Some motor aphasia but no receptive aphasia.
His exam today: 110/94 right arm. Bifid pulse at right brachial. Respiratory rate is 40 at rest. Able to lie flat without problem. Dyspnea on exertion but climbs steps pretty well. Heart rate is regular about 80. Not in atrial fib. Neck--no JVD. Lungs diminished tones at right base. Chest xray in morning. Heart: 3/6 holosystolic murmur left sternal border about 6th ICS. PMI at 6th ICS midclavicular line. I think I hear a right sided S3. Could not hear a diastolic murmur.
Abdomen: liver not enlarged or tender. No ascites. No jaundice or icterus.
Echo today: Severe calcified mitral stenosis with 31 mm gradient across mitral valve. Some MR. Moderate AI. Right ventricle and right atrium enlarged. Significant TR with RV pressure measured at 77 mm hg with PAP estimated at 87. Big left atrium. Normal size LV. LV has borderline low EF of 44%.
I have him on the usual meds to try and keep him alive. Seems like mainly RV failure with high pulmonary pressures secondary to MS. No thrombus noted after stroke. I have him on ASA. No coumadin to give him now. He is alert and totally coherent. Good appetite. My wife and I have him in our room with us.
I emailed Sister Judith Ann and others several weeks ago about Maxime with no answer as usual. (Dr. McShane sent me an email a couple of months ago indicating he was blocking my emails to people at OSF.) So much for open and honest communication at OSF.)
Need your help. What should I do? Please ask Kramer and Steffen and Doug Marshall to come to their senses and accept these kids back that should not be denied care.
Thanks. His picture and quick video attached.
John
----
My Comments in 2021: This post from Dying in Haiti was an open post for any doctor at OSF who would be willing to help getting Maxime surgery at OSF. When OSF blocked my emails to them that was a significant (bad) gesture on their part which isolated my kids in Haiti all the more who needed to return to Peoria.
----
October 14, 2006:
In 2002, Haitian Hearts brought Maxime to Peoria for heart surgery. He was 17 years old. After surgery at OSF, we took him back to Haiti.
Below is an e-mail I sent today (10/14/2006) hoping that OSF will remove their ban on Haitians that have been OSF patients in the past and will die without heart surgery now.
Dear Sister Judith Ann, Keith, Paul, Joe, Gerry, and Doug Marshall,
Sister, I hope you receive this e-mail, but you may not. It appears that Dr. McShane, Chairman of the Ethics Committee at OSF, may have participated in blocking e-mails I have sent to you in the past.
Maxime is a 21-year-old young man that was operated at OSF-SFMC in 2002. He had a diseased mitral valve and it was repaired. He has done very well in Haiti, playing soccer and going to school until recently.
Unfortunately, he needs to return to OSF-SFMC for more cardiac surgery. He lives about 5 hours outside of Port-au-Prince and his brother came here (PAP) yesterday to tell me about Maxime’s condition. Maxime could not make the trip due to his physical problems.
Please stop the OSF-SFMC ban on Haitians that were OSF’s patients in the Haitian Hearts program. As you know a number of former patients have suffered and died and more OSF-SFMC Haitian Hearts patients need to return to Peoria or they will die too.
I am sure that the doctors and nurses that cared for Maxime would be happy to do so again. They would have been happy to take care of Jackson Jean-Baptiste if he would have survived.
I will need to renew his passport in PAP if you agree on his return. Please let me know as soon as possible if you will accept Maxime so we can begin this paperwork and Haitian Hearts will fly him back to Peoria.
Sincerely,
John----Open Letter to The Catholic Diocese of Peoria and OSF
December 3, 2006
Dear Bishop Jenky, Sister Judith Ann, Keith Steffen, and Paul Kramer,
I have been following the weather conditions in Peoria from here in Haiti. The snowfall, winds, and cold seem to have partially paralyzed central Illinois.
Haiti’s condition is actually much worse than Peoria, even though the weather is much nicer. The people here suffer every sort of injustice known…except snow and ice.
Please prayerfully consider accepting Maxime Petion at OSF for evaluation of his heart. I emailed you about Maxime 6 weeks ago, but didn’t hear back.
Maxime was operated several years ago at OSF when he was 17 years old. He is suffering greatly in congestive heart failure.
It is my understanding that OSF’s International Committee is going to meet this week and discuss whether Maxime will be accepted at OSF. Unfortunately, no Sisters sit on this Committee.
As you know, Paul Kramer, Director of Children’s Hospital of Illinois, called the American Consulate in Port-au-Prince several years ago to stop Haitian Hearts patients from obtaining visas to travel to Peoria. Mr. Kramer sits on the Committee. Also, OSF’s legal counsel, Doug Marshall, wrote me a while back stating that OSF will not accept any Haitian Hearts patients even when full or partial charges were offered. These actions by OSF’s leaders are opposite to the Sisters' Mission Statements and the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services written by the Catholic Bishops in the United States.
His host family in the Peoria area are very concerned about Maxime and even suggested to me that they come here to be with Maxime and his family. Political violence and kidnappings in Haiti are at an all-time high, so I have discouraged his host family from traveling here.
Haitian Hearts will offer you $10,000 upfront for Maxime’s life. I am pleading with you to give Maxime another chance at OSF.
He will die soon unless something is done very quickly.
Sincerely,
John
Comments in 2021--I did not hear back from anyone on Maxime. Maria and I kept on caring for Max in our room in Haiti. -----Monday, December 18, 2006Maxime
December 3, 2006
Dear Bishop Jenky, Sister Judith Ann, Keith Steffen, and Paul Kramer,
I have been following the weather conditions in Peoria from here in Haiti. The snowfall, winds, and cold seem to have partially paralyzed central Illinois.
Haiti’s condition is actually much worse than Peoria, even though the weather is much nicer. The people here suffer every sort of injustice known…except snow and ice.
Please prayerfully consider accepting Maxime Petion at OSF for evaluation of his heart. I emailed you about Maxime 6 weeks ago, but didn’t hear back.
Maxime was operated several years ago at OSF when he was 17 years old. He is suffering greatly in congestive heart failure.
It is my understanding that OSF’s International Committee is going to meet this week and discuss whether Maxime will be accepted at OSF. Unfortunately, no Sisters sit on this Committee.
As you know, Paul Kramer, Director of Children’s Hospital of Illinois, called the American Consulate in Port-au-Prince several years ago to stop Haitian Hearts patients from obtaining visas to travel to Peoria. Mr. Kramer sits on the Committee. Also, OSF’s legal counsel, Doug Marshall, wrote me a while back stating that OSF will not accept any Haitian Hearts patients even when full or partial charges were offered. These actions by OSF’s leaders are opposite to the Sisters' Mission Statements and the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services written by the Catholic Bishops in the United States.
His host family in the Peoria area are very concerned about Maxime and even suggested to me that they come here to be with Maxime and his family. Political violence and kidnappings in Haiti are at an all-time high, so I have discouraged his host family from traveling here.
Haitian Hearts will offer you $10,000 upfront for Maxime’s life. I am pleading with you to give Maxime another chance at OSF.
He will die soon unless something is done very quickly.
Sincerely,
John
Comments in 2021--
I did not hear back from anyone on Maxime. Maria and I kept on caring for Max in our room in Haiti.
-----
Monday, December 18, 2006
Maxime
Maria and I are caring for him in Haiti. He sleeps kneeling on the floor with his upper body draped over the bed. He can breathe better at night in this position but still sleeps fitfully. He shouldn't have to exist like this.
Maxime has been accepted by Cleveland Clinic Foundation for evaluation. We are trying to keep him alive in Haiti until we get him to Cleveland.
When I told Maxime's brother this morning that he had done a good job taking care of Maxime, he smiled and responded in Haitian Kreyol, "We want life".
Maria and I are caring for him in Haiti.
He sleeps kneeling on the floor with his upper body draped over the bed. He can breathe better at night in this position but still sleeps fitfully. He shouldn't have to exist like this.
Maxime has been accepted by Cleveland Clinic Foundation for evaluation. We are trying to keep him alive in Haiti until we get him to Cleveland.
When I told Maxime's brother this morning that he had done a good job taking care of Maxime, he smiled and responded in Haitian Kreyol, "We want life".
Maxime has been accepted by Cleveland Clinic Foundation for evaluation. We are trying to keep him alive in Haiti until we get him to Cleveland.
When I told Maxime's brother this morning that he had done a good job taking care of Maxime, he smiled and responded in Haitian Kreyol, "We want life".
Maxime Petion was a 21 year old from southern Haiti. He had been operated at OSF in 2002 but needed to return to OSF for further heart surgery in December, 2006.
OSF refused Max.
Max died at Cleveland Clinic in January, 2007.
A physician taking care of Max at the Clinic commented that Max should not have died and that it was wrong for OSF to have denied him care.
Max and his older brother Jean-Marcel are to the right just before Christmas, 2006. They are standing in front of Haiti's National Palace. A fir tree is decorated with lights behind them.
This was Max's last Christmas.
Max touched many people in Peoria and in Cleveland. His funeral was in central Illinois and Max is buried in a little cemetery looking over the Illinois river.
Jean-Marcel, who had done so much for Max in Haiti, came to his funeral in Illinois. Jean-Marcel was struck by grief and went running madly in the airport. He apologized later, but we are the one's who have Maxime's blood on our hands. We are the ones who need to apologize.
Here is Max's obituary.
Maxime Petion
EAST PEORIA - Maxime Petion, 21, of St. Georges, Haiti, who was hosted by an East Peoria family, died on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio.
He had traveled from Haiti to Cleveland Clinic for medical treatment through arrangements made by Haitian Hearts, Dr. John Carroll, Senator Mike DeWine and Cleveland Clinic.
Maxime was born on May 6, 1985, to Anne Marie D'Haiti. She survives, along with three brothers, Jean-Marcel, Jean-Paul and Frandy, and one sister, Anilia, all of Haiti. He is also survived by his host family, John and Jeanette Johnson and their sons, Adam, Andy and Evan of East Peoria.
The Johnson's hosted Maxime in 2002, when he had heart surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Becky Noss, Maxime's teacher and friend, also survives. Also surviving is Maxime's Haitian pastor and special family friend, Reverend Todo Julien. Maxime was also survived by Mary Hurley, who hosted him while he was in Cleveland.
Though Maxime lived a very poor life in Haiti, he exuded joy and gratitude through his beautiful smile. He was a very devout Christian and read his Bible so much that he wore out its binding.
Maxime touched the lives of many people in central Illinois and also during his brief time in Cleveland. One of his caretakers at Cleveland Clinic wrote the following poem in tribute to Maxime.
Thank you, Maxime, for lessons taught how to pause and enjoy the minutes, to be grateful, to breathe, and to sleep, and to laugh with beloved family and friends. As Jesus did, and Jackson and so many others, you have again taught us by example, a quiet persistent message, despite being wracked by pain and exhaustion, despite smashing into nightmares of inequity, injustice, man's arrogance and fear. Faith. Hope. Love. My faith and hope have been, once again, healed by your life example, your love of life. Now is the moment, not tomorrow or next year. Thank you for the reminder Maxime. I will try, again, to make NOW count.
Services will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007, at 10 a.m. at Mason Funeral Home, Germantown Hills Chapel, with visitation an hour before. Burial will follow at Sand Ridge Cemetery. Rev. Dr. Donald Whitman will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Maxime's Haitian family members in care of John Johnson.
Online condolences at www.masonfuneralhomes.com.
Published in the Peoria Journal Star on 1/24/2007.
Maxime Petion was a 21 year old from southern Haiti. He had been operated at OSF in 2002 but needed to return to OSF for further heart surgery in December, 2006.OSF refused Max.
Max died at Cleveland Clinic in January, 2007.
A physician taking care of Max at the Clinic commented that Max should not have died and that it was wrong for OSF to have denied him care.
Max and his older brother Jean-Marcel are to the right just before Christmas, 2006. They are standing in front of Haiti's National Palace. A fir tree is decorated with lights behind them.
This was Max's last Christmas.
Max touched many people in Peoria and in Cleveland. His funeral was in central Illinois and Max is buried in a little cemetery looking over the Illinois river.
Jean-Marcel, who had done so much for Max in Haiti, came to his funeral in Illinois. Jean-Marcel was struck by grief and went running madly in the airport. He apologized later, but we are the one's who have Maxime's blood on our hands. We are the ones who need to apologize.
Here is Max's obituary.
Maxime Petion
EAST PEORIA - Maxime Petion, 21, of St. Georges, Haiti, who was hosted by an East Peoria family, died on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio.
He had traveled from Haiti to Cleveland Clinic for medical treatment through arrangements made by Haitian Hearts, Dr. John Carroll, Senator Mike DeWine and Cleveland Clinic.
Maxime was born on May 6, 1985, to Anne Marie D'Haiti. She survives, along with three brothers, Jean-Marcel, Jean-Paul and Frandy, and one sister, Anilia, all of Haiti. He is also survived by his host family, John and Jeanette Johnson and their sons, Adam, Andy and Evan of East Peoria.
The Johnson's hosted Maxime in 2002, when he had heart surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Becky Noss, Maxime's teacher and friend, also survives. Also surviving is Maxime's Haitian pastor and special family friend, Reverend Todo Julien. Maxime was also survived by Mary Hurley, who hosted him while he was in Cleveland.
Though Maxime lived a very poor life in Haiti, he exuded joy and gratitude through his beautiful smile. He was a very devout Christian and read his Bible so much that he wore out its binding.
Maxime touched the lives of many people in central Illinois and also during his brief time in Cleveland. One of his caretakers at Cleveland Clinic wrote the following poem in tribute to Maxime.
Thank you, Maxime, for lessons taught how to pause and enjoy the minutes, to be grateful, to breathe, and to sleep, and to laugh with beloved family and friends. As Jesus did, and Jackson and so many others, you have again taught us by example, a quiet persistent message, despite being wracked by pain and exhaustion, despite smashing into nightmares of inequity, injustice, man's arrogance and fear. Faith. Hope. Love. My faith and hope have been, once again, healed by your life example, your love of life. Now is the moment, not tomorrow or next year. Thank you for the reminder Maxime. I will try, again, to make NOW count.
Services will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007, at 10 a.m. at Mason Funeral Home, Germantown Hills Chapel, with visitation an hour before. Burial will follow at Sand Ridge Cemetery. Rev. Dr. Donald Whitman will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Maxime's Haitian family members in care of John Johnson.
Online condolences at www.masonfuneralhomes.com.
Published in the Peoria Journal Star on 1/24/2007.
Maxime Petion (1985--2007)
Maxime Petion [1985-2007]
January 9th, 2007 by
Dr. John A. Carroll
Jeanette Johnson, Maxime’s host mother when he was operated on in Peoria, and some other “Maxime supporters” called me today to let me know that Maxime died this morning at Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
When I took Maxime to the airport in Port-au-Prince in mid-December, we got out of the truck and Maxime hugged his older brother Jean Marcel and cried as he said goodbye. Maxime’s brother acted as his father for many years. Jean-Marcel got back in the truck as we stood on the sidewalk. Maxime waved at him as he sobbed and we walked into the airport. What made me feel the worst for some reason, was that Maxime waved like an old man, not the 21 year old that he was.
Maxime would fly to the United States with a paramedic friend of mine who has done much work in Haiti. I was very worried about putting Maxime on the plane knowing that the loss of barometric pressure would occur. But we had to get him out of Haiti. This would be Maxime’s last chance. Haiti had nothing to offer him. I hoped and prayed all day that his young oxygen transfer system would keep him alive at 33,000 feet.
It did.
Maxime did well on the way to Cleveland except for the overnight stay in Dallas due to the snowstorm that hit the plains. Maxime’s English had slipped some in the last few years, so my wife had a note written in English tied around Maxime’s neck, held with dental floss. The note explained who he was, where he was going, and that he had a bad heart.
It worked. He made it a day late, but a missionary friend of ours in Cleveland was at the airport waiting for him when he landed. She is fluent in Haitian Creole which made Maxime’s welcome very comfortable for both of them.
Maxime was treated like a king the last few weeks of his life. The Johnsons, the Cleveland people, and Cleveland Clinic Foundation did all they could for Maxime. He was able to talk with Jean-Marcel a couple of times. Jeanette said they spoke loudly and were laughing which made everyone feel good.
Early this morning, Maxime’s heart unexpectedly slowed and stopped and he underwent everything possible to revive him, including circulating his blood through a machine to provide more oxygen. Nothing worked and Maxime and all his dignity are gone.
The people in Cleveland told me that he had touched many people during the weeks he had been there. Maxime’s personality in Cleveland was just like it had been in Peoria. He was kind, gentle, and intelligent.
Jeanette Johnson told me on the phone that they want to take Maxime’s body back to central Illinois for a proper burial in a spot that can be seen from their home.
I called Jean-Marcel this afternoon and notified him about his little brother’s death. I told him how sorry I was. Like Maxime, his dignity knows no bounds. I asked him if it was OK to bury Maxime close to the Johnsons in the United States. He agreed.
Jean-Marcel only asked one thing today. He wanted to know if he could come to Maxime’s funeral in Illinois. I told him that I did not know and would check into it and that we would talk again tomorrow.
Obtaining a travel visa for a Haitian can be very difficult, even when all they want to do is say goodbye to their brother.
John A. Carroll, M.D.http://www.peoriasmedicalmafia.com/http://www.dyinginhaiti.blogspot.com/
Jeanette Johnson Says: January 9th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Dear Dr. John,
Thank you for the wonderful post on behalf of Maxime. Thank you, John and Maria for your compassionate and gentle ministry to Maxime, and his family. You and God were the only lifelines Maxime had in order to get to the states and be accepted by Cleveland Clinic.
The medical care Maxime received in Peoria was excellent. The medical care Maxime received in Cleveland was excellent. Maxime touch and changed so many lives in his short life here. I can’t tell you how devastated the medical team here in Cleveland is, as we all are. I’m sure there will be devastation among many medical personnel and friends in Peoria who were equally touched by Maxime.
I have talked to Maxime’s Pastor twice tonight. He is a very humble and non-assuming man with what appears to be a great deal of integrity and love for the Lord. We are making arrangements and are hoping to delay the services until January 27th to allow Maxime’s family a greater window of time in order to make it to the states. Perhaps then Becky can also make arrangements to be present.
We are working through Masons, Germantown Chapel from the Peoria side.
Mary and I plan to visit the unit tomorrow. I’m renting a car and will drive home tomorrow. I’d rather drive than fly and risk missing connections in Chicago, or having to run from gate to gate to make the flight. Plus I have Maxime’s personal belongings to bring home also.
---------------------------------
The Mission and Maxime
Maxime Petion [1985-2007]
January 9th, 2007 by
Dr. John A. Carroll
Jeanette Johnson, Maxime’s host mother when he was operated on in Peoria, and some other “Maxime supporters” called me today to let me know that Maxime died this morning at Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
When I took Maxime to the airport in Port-au-Prince in mid-December, we got out of the truck and Maxime hugged his older brother Jean Marcel and cried as he said goodbye. Maxime’s brother acted as his father for many years. Jean-Marcel got back in the truck as we stood on the sidewalk. Maxime waved at him as he sobbed and we walked into the airport. What made me feel the worst for some reason, was that Maxime waved like an old man, not the 21 year old that he was.
Maxime would fly to the United States with a paramedic friend of mine who has done much work in Haiti. I was very worried about putting Maxime on the plane knowing that the loss of barometric pressure would occur. But we had to get him out of Haiti. This would be Maxime’s last chance. Haiti had nothing to offer him. I hoped and prayed all day that his young oxygen transfer system would keep him alive at 33,000 feet.
It did.
Maxime did well on the way to Cleveland except for the overnight stay in Dallas due to the snowstorm that hit the plains. Maxime’s English had slipped some in the last few years, so my wife had a note written in English tied around Maxime’s neck, held with dental floss. The note explained who he was, where he was going, and that he had a bad heart.
It worked. He made it a day late, but a missionary friend of ours in Cleveland was at the airport waiting for him when he landed. She is fluent in Haitian Creole which made Maxime’s welcome very comfortable for both of them.
Maxime was treated like a king the last few weeks of his life. The Johnsons, the Cleveland people, and Cleveland Clinic Foundation did all they could for Maxime. He was able to talk with Jean-Marcel a couple of times. Jeanette said they spoke loudly and were laughing which made everyone feel good.
Early this morning, Maxime’s heart unexpectedly slowed and stopped and he underwent everything possible to revive him, including circulating his blood through a machine to provide more oxygen. Nothing worked and Maxime and all his dignity are gone.
The people in Cleveland told me that he had touched many people during the weeks he had been there. Maxime’s personality in Cleveland was just like it had been in Peoria. He was kind, gentle, and intelligent.
Jeanette Johnson told me on the phone that they want to take Maxime’s body back to central Illinois for a proper burial in a spot that can be seen from their home.
I called Jean-Marcel this afternoon and notified him about his little brother’s death. I told him how sorry I was. Like Maxime, his dignity knows no bounds. I asked him if it was OK to bury Maxime close to the Johnsons in the United States. He agreed.
Jean-Marcel only asked one thing today. He wanted to know if he could come to Maxime’s funeral in Illinois. I told him that I did not know and would check into it and that we would talk again tomorrow.
Obtaining a travel visa for a Haitian can be very difficult, even when all they want to do is say goodbye to their brother.
John A. Carroll, M.D.http://www.peoriasmedicalmafia.com/http://www.dyinginhaiti.blogspot.com/
Jeanette Johnson Says: January 9th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Dear Dr. John,
Thank you for the wonderful post on behalf of Maxime. Thank you, John and Maria for your compassionate and gentle ministry to Maxime, and his family. You and God were the only lifelines Maxime had in order to get to the states and be accepted by Cleveland Clinic.
The medical care Maxime received in Peoria was excellent. The medical care Maxime received in Cleveland was excellent. Maxime touch and changed so many lives in his short life here. I can’t tell you how devastated the medical team here in Cleveland is, as we all are. I’m sure there will be devastation among many medical personnel and friends in Peoria who were equally touched by Maxime.
I have talked to Maxime’s Pastor twice tonight. He is a very humble and non-assuming man with what appears to be a great deal of integrity and love for the Lord. We are making arrangements and are hoping to delay the services until January 27th to allow Maxime’s family a greater window of time in order to make it to the states. Perhaps then Becky can also make arrangements to be present.
We are working through Masons, Germantown Chapel from the Peoria side.
Mary and I plan to visit the unit tomorrow. I’m renting a car and will drive home tomorrow. I’d rather drive than fly and risk missing connections in Chicago, or having to run from gate to gate to make the flight. Plus I have Maxime’s personal belongings to bring home also.
---------------------------------
The Mission and Maxime
January 29th, 2007
Maxime Petion was buried across the Illinois River on Saturday. His brother and his pastor from Haiti were able to attend as were hundreds of central Illinois people who knew or had heard of Maxime.
Our friend Maxime must be in Heaven now. His life in Haiti was very difficult for 21 years. But I think people that arrive in Heaven must forgive or they don’t get there. However, they don’t have to believe everything they read.
OSF Health Care Mission has a website that says the following:“OSF Health Care fulfills, through a service of love and compassion, a mission of caring and peace consistent with the needs of the Church and the people served. The love of Christ permeates its work as it strives to continue the healing ministry of Christ and His Church to the total person; to be love, mercy, inspiration, tenderness and compassion to those whose lives are entered.
“From this philosophy flow these values which permeate all of our endeavors:
1. Justice: Personal worth and dignity of every person we serve regardless of love, color, religion and ability to pay;
2. Compassion: Caring response to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the people we serve;
3. Integrity: Decision-making based on Catholic Ethical principles and Catholic social teachings in every activity of the system.
The people that should assure these OSF values are respected failed Maxime miserably.
A nurse wrote a poem about Maxime and Jackson (another deceased Haitian Hearts patient that was included in the obituary):
“Thank you, Maxime, for lessons taught how to pause and enjoy the minutes, to be grateful, to breathe, and to sleep, and to laugh with beloved family and friends. As Jesus did, and Jackson and so many others, you have again taught us by example, a quiet persistent message, despite being wracked by pain and exhaustion, despite smashing into nightmares of inequity, injustice, man’s arrogance and fear. Faith. Hope. Love. My faith and hope have been, once again, healed by your life example, your love of life. Now is the moment, not tomorrow or next year. Thank you for the reminder Maxime. I will try, again, to make NOW count.”
“The religion Jesus gave to us is not a religion without risks.”
Fr. Gerard O’Rourkee------Comment on Maxime and Jackson from Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Dear Dr. Carroll,As you know, we lost Maxime on our floor, and it broke my heart. We adored him, and we are all so thankful you brought him to us. Of course, taking care of him brought tearful memories of Jackson back to me. I go to school full time, but during my winter break, dressed in the CCF green, I spent most of my time in room four, taking care of Jackson. He was so smart, and so kind! But he was so very weak, too.Reading this, I wonder if it was me, the nurse-aide, because I bathed him frequently, and I still to this day remember that moment.I will NEVER forget him. I am haunted by his tired voice, when one day towards the end of my week he asked me, "why didn't you brush my teeth?"I did not realise that he no longer had the strength to do it himself. So I got out the toothpaste and brush, and I spoke to him gently as I brushed his beautiful teeth.I will always remember how he'd sit up and listen to his CD walkman, and read when he had the strength.I feel very blessed that you brought him to us. I am still working there, but as a nurse trainee, still in school, and of course, it is my winter break and I got to meet Max.His hard-boiled eggs were still in the hallway fridge. No one had the heart to throw them out last time I checked.His smile and his sense of humour will live with us. I know I will never forget him. Or Jackson.Thank you for bringing him to us.-----
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
January 29th, 2007Maxime Petion was buried across the Illinois River on Saturday. His brother and his pastor from Haiti were able to attend as were hundreds of central Illinois people who knew or had heard of Maxime.
Our friend Maxime must be in Heaven now. His life in Haiti was very difficult for 21 years. But I think people that arrive in Heaven must forgive or they don’t get there. However, they don’t have to believe everything they read.
OSF Health Care Mission has a website that says the following:“OSF Health Care fulfills, through a service of love and compassion, a mission of caring and peace consistent with the needs of the Church and the people served. The love of Christ permeates its work as it strives to continue the healing ministry of Christ and His Church to the total person; to be love, mercy, inspiration, tenderness and compassion to those whose lives are entered.
“From this philosophy flow these values which permeate all of our endeavors:
1. Justice: Personal worth and dignity of every person we serve regardless of love, color, religion and ability to pay;
2. Compassion: Caring response to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the people we serve;
3. Integrity: Decision-making based on Catholic Ethical principles and Catholic social teachings in every activity of the system.
The people that should assure these OSF values are respected failed Maxime miserably.
A nurse wrote a poem about Maxime and Jackson (another deceased Haitian Hearts patient that was included in the obituary):
“Thank you, Maxime, for lessons taught how to pause and enjoy the minutes, to be grateful, to breathe, and to sleep, and to laugh with beloved family and friends. As Jesus did, and Jackson and so many others, you have again taught us by example, a quiet persistent message, despite being wracked by pain and exhaustion, despite smashing into nightmares of inequity, injustice, man’s arrogance and fear. Faith. Hope. Love. My faith and hope have been, once again, healed by your life example, your love of life. Now is the moment, not tomorrow or next year. Thank you for the reminder Maxime. I will try, again, to make NOW count.”
“The religion Jesus gave to us is not a religion without risks.”
Fr. Gerard O’Rourkee
------
Comment on Maxime and Jackson from Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Dear Dr. Carroll,
As you know, we lost Maxime on our floor, and it broke my heart. We adored him, and we are all so thankful you brought him to us. Of course, taking care of him brought tearful memories of Jackson back to me. I go to school full time, but during my winter break, dressed in the CCF green, I spent most of my time in room four, taking care of Jackson. He was so smart, and so kind! But he was so very weak, too.
Reading this, I wonder if it was me, the nurse-aide, because I bathed him frequently, and I still to this day remember that moment.
I will NEVER forget him. I am haunted by his tired voice, when one day towards the end of my week he asked me, "why didn't you brush my teeth?"
I did not realise that he no longer had the strength to do it himself. So I got out the toothpaste and brush, and I spoke to him gently as I brushed his beautiful teeth.
I will always remember how he'd sit up and listen to his CD walkman, and read when he had the strength.
I feel very blessed that you brought him to us. I am still working there, but as a nurse trainee, still in school, and of course, it is my winter break and I got to meet Max.
His hard-boiled eggs were still in the hallway fridge. No one had the heart to throw them out last time I checked.
His smile and his sense of humour will live with us. I know I will never forget him. Or Jackson.
Thank you for bringing him to us.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Maxime's Obituary
Maxime's Anniversary
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
One year ago Maxime was fighting for his life.
Maxime now rests over the Illinois River from his vantage point that watches OSF's new 500 million dollar expansion develop.
The world's best medical technology did not help Maxime. The human heart in Peoria that controls the lives of Maxime and many others simply does not care.
One year ago Maxime was fighting for his life.Maxime now rests over the Illinois River from his vantage point that watches OSF's new 500 million dollar expansion develop.
The world's best medical technology did not help Maxime. The human heart in Peoria that controls the lives of Maxime and many others simply does not care.
