A dear elderly friend: 'Don't worry. You don't have to hurt anymore' and please help us at Children Without A Voice

I walked out of the elevator at University Hospital in Augusta, frantically trying to find Dr. Wilson's room. As I asked a receptionist at the desk, she pointed to his room. I walked in and didn't recognize this man. There must be two Wilsons on this ICU floor.

"That's not Dr. Wilson," I told the receptionist. "Is there another Dr. Wilson on this floor?"

"No," she responded. "That's the only Dr. Wilson we have here."

"Was another Dr. Wilson moved off this floor," I asked as panic and anxiety began setting in.

"No. This is the only Dr. Wilson we've had here," she calmly replied.

As I turned around to head to the elevator, I saw Mrs. Wilson walk into the strange man's room. She motioned for me. I followed her into the room with disbelief. This is what Dr. Wilson looks like now.

"He lost a lot of weight," she told me.

A few hours earlier, Robin, my former longtime girlfriend called me with shear panic in her voice. "P.J. My dad's on life support." I froze. I didn't speak. Those few seconds of silence could've lasted an eternity. She ended by saying she didn't know if he would live through the night. Finally, I gathered myself and told her that her dad lived a remarkable life. It's best that he passes away without having to endure any further pain.

Dr. Wilson opened his eyes for a mere second or so. An oxygen tube extend from a machine down his throat, IVs covered his body, and a few catheter tubes ran from two other machines to his neck and genitalia. He had suffered a heart attack.

I went back the next day. His family members had come from Texas and South Carolina to see him. On this day, he was in much better shape. His eyes were open, he was writing on a notepad to his younger sister, and had those same mischievous looks I fondly remember. "When you get out of here, we're going to have to go to Chinese. You fly, I buy," I said with a lighthearted chuckle as his eyes widened.

He wrote on a little pad I brought, "P.J., That for coming." I knew what he really meant to say there and it was completely understandable how his writing was somewhat indecipherable. Next, there was another few moments in time that will never escape me. This was comparable to my near-death experience and reminded me that I should have faith there is a Heaven. He wrote on a notepad to his younger sister the following:

"I was toiling to get into Heaven. A man approached me at a gate and said, "Don't worry. You don't have to hurt anymore."

Tears began streaming down my face. This man has been there as a mentor, friend, and someone who deeply cared for the well-being of others (good, strong Democrat too). His family invited me to join them for lunch downstairs in the cafeteria. No way. I couldn't do it in this condition. I had to make the excuse that I had just eaten which I did and kindly declined the offer.

Since this experience, Dr. Wilson continues to be a fighter. It began for him in a small town in Tennessee where he was bullied by his peers, lived in poverty, entered the Navy at 16 while lying about his actual age on his Social Security card, finished top in every Naval technical class he took, earned his Ph.D from Boston University after dropping out of high school, worked for the Pentagon in the late '80s, and finished his service to society mentoring prospective Master's Degree teachers. Before I came back to the Atlanta area, the medical staff took the oxygen tube out of his throat. His voice is gravely, but he still has the same charming wit and sarcasm to him. I hope his vision is fulfilled to where not only him but all of us one day enter that place where one reminds us, "Don't worry. You don't have to hurt anymore."

Children Without A Voice

Currently, I spend a few hours a week volunteering for Children Without A Voice, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect. This is a nonpartisan, universal fight we have to rescue children from reckless and cruel adults. I ask each and every one of you to read the touching profile story of our founder, Lin Seahorn. She has lived an extraordinary life and is a great, down-to-earth woman.

The organization is still in its infancy stages. It began in 2007. Recently, Three Days Grace (I'm not a fan of their modern rock sound) performed a benefit concert for us. The lead singer and drummer for Linkin Park (not a fan of them either. Sorry, I'm picky when it comes to music) has thrown in their support. We need more. Please visit www.childrenwithoutavoiceusa.org. On the left hand side of the screen, click on the action alerts link. There's no obligation. All you have to do a few times a week is copy and paste an e-mail I send from our Legislative Committee to demand maximum sentencing for those charged with crimes against a child. And if you do feel like doing a little extra, you can contact me or Lin to come on board. She encourages you to do whatever you want by applying your strengths -- writing, audiovisual, etc. Any help you provide is greatly appreciated.