A dying army veteran, Lee Hernandez, from Texas wanted people to call him and to text him as his very last wish. He has a terminal disease that has affected his vision and his cognitive abilities.
It is not such a big deal to send Lee a supportive message in these difficult moments, especially considering he served his country for a lot of years. Though he is with his wife, Ernestine, he doesn’t want to feel alone.
Lee: ‘I guess no one wants to talk to me’
47-year old, Lee Hernandez served for 18 years and a half in the army and spent a lot of time in Iraq. He is currently under hospice care at his home in New Braunfels, Texas. He is very sick, and he has experienced continuous strokes. His vision and his capabilities have been affected because of this. Doctors don’t have much hope about Lee’s case. They say there is nothing money can do to ameliorate his condition, though they want him to feel as comfortable as possible. The cause of his disease has not been yet determined. The Texan veteran has undergone three brain surgeries, and his body is deteriorating very fast.
Lee is aware of how terrible his disease is. Therefore, as his last wish, he wanted people – strangers – to give him a call or to send him a text. This wish comes after Lee told his wife, Ernestine Hernandez, one day to hold his phone just in case someone decided to call him. However, the phone never rang, and he said to his wife that perhaps no one wanted to talk to him or to know how he is.
This confession broke his wife’s heart, so she found out a way to make people call Lee to make him feel better.
“It broke my heart,” said Ernestine. “(Lee’s) speech is not very well, so many people didn’t take much interest or want to talk to him.”
A text can make a difference for this veteran
She got help from “Caregivers of Wounded Warriors” to support this request. Last week the Arizona Veterans Forum posted Lee’s request on their Facebook page; and soon, Lee found out that he was wrong. He got tons of cards, calls, and texts from a lot of strangers that wished him the best and prayed for him to recover.
“They are an excellent support group of wives and ladies who know the struggles of what we go through,” Ernestine said about the supporting group for veterans and added that thanks to that “a lot of people call to pray with him. It really uplifts him.”
She seats alongside Lee to read texts and cards. Lee can’t do this by himself because he lost his vision. Ernestine thanks every single person who has taken a moment to contact Lee, saying that the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. She says she will continue to give him the best life she can offer.
Lee’s disease started about five years ago. Ernestine describes his husband as a fighter that has “beaten the odds.” You can contact him by calling or texting at 202-632-6778 between 5 and 9 p.m. ET.
Source: KSDK