A Cup of Cold Water Given in My Name

Arturo* came as a new patient walk-in to St. Mary’s Clinic recently. Walk-in patients are allowed to see a physician on a case-by-case basis, and the staff could see he needed care. Arturo had recently arrived from Nicaragua and had been feeling poorly. He was living with his uncle who had dropped him off at the clinic on his way to work that morning.

“Arturo was evaluated and as part of his treatment was given a prescription for medications,” said Sister Rosanne Popp, M.D. “Since he had no income, we gave him a gift card to go across the street to Walmart to buy the medication.”

At lunchtime, a staff member went to Walmart and saw Arturo sitting outside the store. “She approached him and asked why he was sitting in the hot sun,” said Popp. “He said his uncle was at work and wouldn’t be back until after 4 p.m., so he was waiting. Concerned about him getting dehydrated, she bought him a snack and gave him a bottle of cold water that she had with her.” The staff member then convinced him to come back to the clinic. “She explained that he could wait in the cool waiting room for his uncle, and the staff found more snacks, juice and water for him.”

At the clinic’s closing time, the staff realized that Arturo was still sitting there. “His uncle was now not able to come until after 7 p.m.,” said Popp. “The staff found left-over pizza, along with juice and water and gave it to him. He was very grateful for the nourishment.”

When informed that the gates of the clinic would close at 6:30 p.m. and his uncle would not have access to the clinic, Arturo said he would go back to wait outside of Walmart. “Deciding in his state that he needed to get home, the three

remaining staff members pooled their resources, called Uber and sent him on his way with a bottle of cold water to keep him refreshed,” said Popp. “Just another day of service to those who need ‘cold water’ to help them survive the day’s trials.”

*not client’s real name