Testimonials & Hospice Stories

Hospice Stories

Our Promise to Noah

In spite of ALS, Noah lived life to its fullest.

Devastating news

Noah Lambert cried while sitting in his car outside the doctor's office. He was delivering the devastating news to his long-time companion Paula from his cell phone. It was ALS, a terminal neurological disorder.

The successful insurance executive was always an optimist. He jogged two miles a day at a challenging pace and enjoyed good health for most of his life. Then one day, he felt throbbing pains in his calves and his pace slowed. He wasn't overly concerned until he began to slur his words. That's when his doctor sent him to a neurologist. The diagnosis shook Noah to the core, but by the time he arrived at Paula's home, he was ready to live.

"Noah said 'Pack the suitcases. I'm in charge of travel,'" Paula recalled. "He was determined to keep a positive attitude and do what he could while he could."

Traveling the world

For the next two years, Noah traveled, laughed often and taught everyone around him how to live with his disease. Together, they cruised from Alaska to the Mexican Riviera to the Caribbean and up the Northeast coast to his hometown of Montreal.

Between trips, Noah worked from home as the disease progressed, retiring only when he lost the ability to speak clearly. He couldn't stand without help and spent much of his day on a three-wheel scooter.

Hospice: A tough decision

Fearful Noah might fall and not be able to call anyone while Paula was at work, they decided — with some hesitation — to call Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network for assistance. JHCN arranged for social workers, Rabbi Jennifer Tisdale and volunteers to go into their home.

"Noah was apprehensive about hospice because to him it meant the end," Paula said. "We found out that wasn't true. In some ways it was the beginning."

Laughing with his volunteer Barbara

JHCN volunteer Barbara Greenberg spent hours working jigsaw puzzles with Noah and winding their way through hundreds of his all-time favorite movies.

"When I met Noah, he was uncomfortable with having a stranger sitting with him," Barbara said. "His speech frustrated him, but I understood enough — and it was okay if we didn't talk. We could still communicate."

One day, he asked Barbara to bring in "The End," a dark comedy starring Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. "I wasn't sure about watching that kind of movie with him, but he laughed and laughed and pounded his arms on the chair," she said. "He could see humor in his disease and that made everyone around him comfortable."

Getting married before he died

His disease continued to progress until one day Noah lost total use of his legs and fell. Noah took this as a sign that time was running out but refused to give up. He asked Paula to call the rabbi to marry them. To Noah, a wedding would symbolize living life to the fullest.

Minutes before the wedding ceremony began, Noah pulled Rabbi Tisdale aside and asked her to also deliver the eulogy at his funeral.

"That was a very courageous act," said Temple Israel's Rabbi Tisdale, the JHCN spiritual advisor to the couple during Noah's final months. "Noah wanted to make this decision himself, to make sure it was taken care of."

Noah died three weeks after their wedding, and Rabbi Tisdale honored his final request.

Embracing Judaism on his terms

"They were both concerned that these moments were sanctified by a rabbi according to Jewish tradition," Rabbi Tisdale said. "It was a privilege to be a part of those important moments in their lives. The focus was on Noah and their life together, and I felt that's the way it should be."

Paula credits Jewish Hospice & Chaplaincy Network for helping Noah maintain his dignity. "He intellectualized his disease, but he needed to hear confirmation that his life was ending and that it could be okay." she said. "He embraced his Jewish roots, and with Rabbi Tisdale, he could do it on his own terms."

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