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Therapists Go Above and Beyond To Help Elderly Man Be Baptized by Son

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It isn’t a shock to us to hear that occupational therapists, nurses, and doctors work extremely hard. From the long hours of scurrying back-and-forth across the hospital floors to the heavy lifting and incredible patience, they sacrifice a chunk of their lives to help others.

I remember spending several days in a hospital after undergoing an appendectomy, observing the careful attention that the nurses paid in each visit to my room into the early hours of the morning. Or when they would hold my hand because I was too squeamish to endure the many dreaded medical endeavors (I know, I’m a baby).

It is these people who work in the medical field that have all sorts of crazy stories, witnessing both sad and happy moments — especially within families.

For the nurses and occupational therapists at Adena Rehab in Greenfield, Ohio, they can most assuredly testify to this fact.

85-year-old Dale Hodson is a patient at this facility. An Ohio resident, Hodson started a dump truck company in Leesburg, Ohio in the 1930s, which has since been passed to two of his three sons.

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After enduring two strokes in 2005, Hodson struggled using his right side. After a long period of declining health, Hodson became a resident of Adena Rehab.

His son Matthew Hodson would consistently worry about his spiritual well-being as his father got older. He and his brothers would often check in on their dad, asking if he was content with where he was in his spiritual life. According to Matthew Hodson, his father would mostly reply, “Yep, yep, I think so.”

However, this all changed after Matthew Hodson visited Louisville one weekend to see his son run track, where he received a text from his brother, Mike.

“Dad wants to give his life to Christ and be Baptized,” the text read.

Totally in support of getting their father baptized, they brainstormed how to grant him this wonderful opportunity while he was a resident of Adena Rehab.

That’s when the occupational therapists and nurses stepped in to save the day. Matthew Hodson received a call from Haley Teeters, an employee at Adena, when presented him with their official idea.

“We are going to inflate a pool outside and run hot water to it and baptize him there,” Teeters said.

With the plan set, on the morning of April 24, Dale Hodson’s son, Mike, baptized him in front of all his family and friends.

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“My dad, who I didn’t think I would ever see do this, just became one of God’s children at the age of 85,” Matthew Hodson exclaimed with pride and joy in a submission to Love What Matters.

In the video, the nurses take Dale Hodson in a wheelchair to the pool, helping him stand up out of the chair with a walker. With smiles on their faces, the nurses excitedly lift Dale into the water, all the while singing, “Step into the water, wade out a little deeper. Wet your feet in the water of His love …” After his son baptizes him, Dale Hodson rises out of the water with a smile across his face.

What an incredible reminder that it is never too late to fulfill a purpose, no matter how big or small. Dale Hodson’s decision leaves the rest of us in joyful tears and inspiration to pursue our callings.

Thank you to the dedicated nurses and occupational therapists at Adena Rehab who helped Dale Hodson’s important decision and desire come true!

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Erin Shortall is an editorial intern for The Western Journal. She is currently finishing her Bachelor's Degree at Grove City College. She has a passion for homeless ministry in her home city of Philadelphia, PA.
Erin Shortall is an editorial intern for The Western Journal. She is currently finishing her Bachelor's Degree at Grove City College. She has a major in English, minors in both Writing and Communication Studies, and a Technical Writing concentration. She is currently working on designing and writing a book of poetry to financially support a new homeless ministry of Grove City, PA called Beloved Mercy Ministry. In her spare time, she loves to sing, play piano, exercise, traverse cities, and find the cutest coffee shops. She also has a passion for homeless ministry in her home city of Philadelphia, PA.
Birthplace
Philadelphia, PA
Honors/Awards
Scholarship of Academic Achievement and Moral Character
Education
Grove City College
Location
Grove City, PA
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
Visual Design, Document Design, Technical Communication, Literature, Computer Ethics




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