He Was Hired To Wheel Patients To Their Rooms And Had No Idea Cameras Were Recording Him

A caregiver’s job is perhaps one of the hardest and most thankless jobs out there. Long hours, nappy changes, sponge baths, senile patients who occasionally border on abusive, and so on. However, even on the toughest days, some caregivers continue to go above and beyond for the people in their care. These people should be cherished, celebrated, and even rewarded for their kindness and compassion.

Lindon Beckford has been a hospital transporter for over 35 years at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Here, he rolls patients to surgery, delivers wheelchairs, moves broken equipment, and takes samples to the lab.

Lindon Beckford Goes Viral

Through his time, he’s seen patients in various states, including those who’re nervous, anxious, or uncertain of how their future will look. Amazingly, it seems he has a secret up his sleeve for comforting said anxious patients. Firstly, he introduces himself and tells his transports that he will be their “chauffeur”. Lindon has put his whole heart into his work and provided the utmost compassion enveloped in a blanket of gentle warmth. As evidenced by the recognition he received in 2016.

In 2016, Lindon was caught on camera, unbeknownst to him, singing to his transports in an effort to help calm and comfort them. It seems that patients are the only people who’ve grown to love his performances. It seems that many hospital personnel also enjoy his performances and have even called for his assistance when they’ve had patients take their final breaths.

Explaining Himself

“In patient transport, a lot of time we’re just talking, have conversation about any little thing — gardening, pets, sports, anything in the news, or, you know, families.” He explained. “In between, then if something come to me, I’ll just start singing out. I’m singing anything that come to mind: reggae, gospel, country, love songs — whatever comes to mind at the moment, I’ll sing. People telling me how good it is, and how good it makes them feel, so I continue doing it.”

Additionally, he sometimes singe his own reggae songs from the “lovers rock” genre. Lindon grew up in Jamaica, singing as a little boy. Many people know that islands like Jamaica are renowned for their music, captivating the souls of everyone who visits the islands. A lesser known fact is that Ska, Reggae, and Dub all originated from the beautiful little island. Each is credited with influencing artists like No Doubt, Skrillex, Sublime, and many others. In addition, Jamaica is the birthplace of well-known artist and activist, Bob Marley.

Singing Despite His Fears

Therefore, it’s no surprise that Lindon has always had a love of music. In contrast, he is prone to Anxiety and panic attacks so the fact that he sings out loud is both brave and admirable. Interestingly, Lindon used to sing in night clubs in Massachusetts and Maine before his anxiety got too bad. Somehow he managed to overcome his enough to be a comfort to many ill, uncertain, or dying patients.

The Pandemic was disruptive to the lives of people all over the world. However, that didn’t seem to deter Lindon from continuing his kind-hearted efforts. “With COVID-19, it doesn’t make much difference to us. We’re doing safe practices, ya know? Double up your gloves and your precaution gowns and your mask … I’m not too concerned about it. I’m more worried about people who are going through physical illness, ya know?” He disclosed. “Working on the front line is a different mindset because you have to learn to give up yourself first — forgetting about yourself for a while, so you can help other people.”

Alternatively, he treats those who’ve passed with the utmost respect, not singing when taking a body to the morgue.

Other Notable Personnel

Although some people go above and beyond in their jobs, when caregivers do so, it often helps to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Luckily, there are people like Lindon providing a ray of sunshine in a world that at times can seem dark and cold.

Another gem of a human being, and caregiver, is Denise Cox. Currently managing patient care and a team of caregivers at Arosa in Palm Desert. Cox was recently recognized for her kindness and dedication with a Ceca Award for “caregiver excellence.” Nominated by her colleagues, she’s been providing excellent care and service for more than 20 years. President of the CECA foundation stated the work done by Cox and other medical professionals “transforms people’s lives”.

Meanwhile, in 2017, a patient at the University of Nebraska medical center nominated Deepak Singh and team, for their “enormous compassion” they showed while helping the patient address some “long-standing medical problems”.

Again, in 2019, a hospice social worker reached out to a local Greek restaurant after one client expressed missing her mom’s authentic Greek Food. Further explaining how their kitchen, while making good food, hadn’t quite come close to the cooking she missed so much. When Allison Givens at Bethesda Dilworth reached out on behalf of the elderly woman, Nick Stratos, owner of Spiro in South St. Louis, was more than happy to send over some food. What’s more, he did so out of the kindness of his heart, and didn’t even charge them the bill.

Going Above and Beyond

Additionally, the same year Lindon was recognized for his creative and kind methods for calming patients Sharon Harris, an in-home caregiver at Messiah Lifeways was honored for her above and beyond efforts. It seems she reached out the Navy to get her patient, sometimes referred to as a client, some information regarding her deceased son, who’d passed away on active duty. However, the information regarding the death wasn’t completely concise and never quite sat right with the family. Sharon took it upon herself to help solve the mystery, giving her client some much needed peace of mind after nearly 30 years after the death of her son.

People like Lindon Beckford, Sharon, Allison and Deepak face countless obstacles, much like the rest of the medical field. However those with great bed side manor, a deep sense of compassion, and the creativity to make the world brighter are rare to find. As a result, celebrating them for giving hope and warmth to the world is easy to do!

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