Who else do you know that has spent 6,000 hours with the terminally ill? James Lewis was recently named “citizen of the year” by the Santa Monica Elks for his 22 years of volunteering at the Department of Veteran Affairs West Los Angeles Hospital.
“Now in their (terminally ill patients) final days upon this Earth, James Lewis is there beside our veterans, to give a sense of value to their lives and to assure them that this country cares and appreciates who they are and what they have sacrificed for us,” said Dannion Brinkely, chairman of the Elks’ board of Compassion in Action. “Jim is a giant of a man in more ways that one.”
When he accepted the plaque, Lewis said, “When I meet a new patient, I walk up, extend my hand and say ‘I want to thank you for what you have done for your country and for me.’ Whether they extend a hand, a withered claw, or an empty sleeve, I shake it. I give them a sense of self worth and in return, they give me an even greater sense of self worth.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 4, 2005. Read the original PDF.