I will always appreciate and have gratitude for my dear friend and mentor for the past 27 years. As I always called him (an honorary Dominican) Jorge, I was fortunate to have known him both on a personal level and a professional level.
On a professional level, during the start of his career, as part of our staff, he was always helpful to the nurses and compassionate to the patients during the HIV Clinical Trials in the late 90s. He would give up vacation time to volunteer as a camp counselor at the HIV summer camp. He also provided me with the encouragement, guidance, and support I needed to become a pediatric nurse practitioner.
On a personal level, he gave me the confidence to drive all over the country. He always showed my parents, family, and friends love and respect. We were blessed with our son Francis twenty-two years ago, who reminds me so much of him. Whenever I reached for the phone to call him to discuss our son, my heart breaks when I remember I could no longer.
Jorge, many will remember you for your great smile, but I will never forget you for your “healing hands.” You left this world a better place than you found it. You may be gone, but you will remain forever in our hearts. May you rest in eternal peace.
Lourdes M Rodriguez, MSN, APRN, CPNP