ERNIE

Ernie was a man of the sea, an abalone fisherman who craved the open waters, in his late eighties he became subject to the confines of an aged care facility. Diagnosed with end stage Prostate cancer Ernie spent most of his days in bed. On my rounds I had a habit of asking Ernie “so what’s the weather like for fishing today?” to which he would revel in embellishments of raging storms and treacherous waters. Ernie also had a habit of singing Johnny Cash songs – every Sabbath was greeted with the sounds of “Sunday mornin’ comin’ down”.

In the days leading up to his death, as Ernie slipped into unconsciousness, we nurses took over the role of recapturing the spirit of the sea & continued to play all his favourite Johnny Cash songs. I was there when Ernie died; I like to think that in that moment he was out on the sea somewhere, diving for abalone and humming along to one of his favourite tunes.

"May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest"

-from SHAKESPEARE'S Hamlet-