Michael Hernandez

(from the Brunswick-Bath Times Record, where I once worked as senior flyboy)

Michael Hernandez, a talented registered nurse, and 33-year resident of West Bath, ME, died unexpectedly on June 19, 2017 while vacationing in Mexico.

Michael and Lisa

Michael is survived by the love of his life, Lisa Baker Boyle of West Bath, his sister Sandra Kane in California, and countless friends who consider him family.

Born on September 14, 1958 in New York City, Michael’s parents had immigrated to America after leaving Puerto Rico. Following his mother’s death when he was only 16, he took on multiple jobs to help support his father and sister.

He was a graduate of St. Regis High School in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He relocated to Midcoast Maine and became the first year-round chef at Cook’s Lobster House after teaching himself to cook. He would eventually put himself through nursing school, earning his registered nursing degree.

During his tenure at the Midcoast Hospital and 24 years as the Admissions Director for the Rousseau Management, Inc. (Horizons Dionne Commons, and Coastal Shores), Michael touched many lives and was a committed advocate for patients in need of medical care.

Michael’s friends and those who were helped through his professional endeavors will remember his compassion and devotion to others. He was a hard worker and never took his life or his friendships for granted. He was a role model, and the perfect gentleman. He lived his life to the fullest, and did everything with love. Michael’s kindness and generosity touched everyone he met.

He will be deeply missed by many, his spirit and generosity will never be forgotten.

A Celebration of Life for friends and family at Coastal Landing in Brunswick from 3-6pm on Thursday June 29, 2017.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to RMI Resident Activity funds.

Michael stated his philosophy of nursing twenty-four years ago, at the beginning of his vocation:

A philosophy, in my opinion, encompasses the past, the present, and the future. My past and nursing are completely unrelated, for some strange reason a seed of this concept floated into my brain four years ago and rooted into an ambition. Through fortune and fate, I’ve been able to tend to it ever since. I honestly believe the nursing path was sort of destined for me because my intellect had no reason to choose it. My career has been fortunately successful but totally alien to the medical field. Not only did I not know anyone in the field, but, thank God, I haven’t even been sick in over 20 years. One can see that either I believe I am fated to follow the nursing path or I admit to having perhaps made a totally irrational and idiotic life change. I’m sticking with the former so far.

Presently I am experiencing the euphoria, or is it shock, of a marathon runner. After two years of cramming facts and concepts into this limited brain of mine I am both exhilarated and exhausted. Never before had I been a victim of education and never before had I been so satisfied by it, in retrospect it hasn’t really been that bad considering the honor of being a nurse that it will hopefully provide.

Now the best part, the future. I view nursing, and I realize I still have volumes and volumes to learn, as a relationship between oneself and one’s responsibility. The responsibilities are to give and to accept. To learn and to teach. To respect fear and to alleviate fear. To encourage and to remember to be encouraged. To achieve maximal efficiency but to resist becoming a machine. To be there for others and to allow others to be there for you. To help others recover, regain, and retain health. To be part of a team with the well being of others the most important team goal. To be as good as we can, to work hard, and to always have a heart. to remember how fortunate we are to get paid to do these things that are just what being human is all about.

Michael Hernandez 4/24/94

Mike, AKMA, and Margaret

1 thought on “Michael Hernandez

  1. From Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelbell66/posts/10210806807660360

    “LOVE STORIES”
    BY DAVID TREADWELL

    A good friend of mine suggested that I write an article about Michael Hernandez, an extraordinary man who served for 23 years as the Admissions Director for the Rousseau Management, Inc. (Horizons, Dionne Commons and Coastal Shores). Michael died while vacationing in Mexico, and my friend thought a special tribute was an order. I agreed and began interviewing some people who knew Michael well.

    Minutes into the first interview, I thought, “Wow, this guy really was amazing! I wish I had known him.” Here are just a few of the things people said about this kind soul: “He always had a smile; he had my heart.” … “He dealt with people with great respect; everyone felt important.” … “He was a walking phone book; he knew everyone’s phone number.” … ”He opened the door for everyone.”… ”Residents loved him; families loved him; everybody loved him.” … “He could fix anything.” … “He kept us all together; he was our glue.”

    After interviewing Michael’s soulmate Lisa Baker Boyle, I decided to call this piece, “Love Stories.” As the above comments confirm, Michael loved life and people loved Michael. And the powerful connection between Michael Hernandez and Lisa Baker Boyle is a love story worth telling. So here goes:

    “On February 18, 2016 [Lisa remembers the date well] I was visiting Horizons with one of my clients. We took our lobster rolls out to the sun room because it was quiet out there. Then a man (Michael) came walking around the corner. We looked at each other and had an instant connection. He later told me he had looked to see if I was wearing a wedding ring. His office was right nearby and I kept trying to say things loud enough so he would hear me. After lunch, I decided to ask him where there was a wastebasket. We exchanged numbers; texted back and forth later; and had a date two nights later.”

    Call it karma, call it luck, call it the spirits of the universe. Whatever the term, the connection worked. Lisa and Michael had each found the love of their lives in an instant. And they never looked back.

    They spent the next 16 months enjoying each other’s company while, shortly after meeting, living in Michael’s home in West Bath. Lisa’s parents and her five children all loved Michael. And he loved them, often referring to them as the family he never had.

    “One reason we connected,” says Lisa, “is that we’ve both always been caregivers. We just loved being together and talking. And we’re both Virgos.”

    Lisa says that the people who worked with Michael noticed the change right away.
    “They said that he had always been happy before, but since he met me it was like he was walking on air.”

    And then, tragically, fate intervened. They were vacationing in Mexico, and Michael got caught in a rip tide and drowned. “He couldn’t swim,” says Lisa, “He sent me back to shore. That was Michael, always looking out for the other person. He saved my life.”

    No words can ease the pain of such a tragedy. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair. Michael Hernandez is not in “a better place,” and he can never be replaced. But those who knew him can heed the lessons he taught by the way he lived his life.

    Some excerpts taken from Michael Hernandez’ Nursing Philosophy should be placed on the wall of anyone who serves others or, in truth, anyone who wants to make the world a better place.
    “I view nursing as a relationship between oneself and one’s responsibility. The responsibilities are to give and to accept. To learn and to teach. To respect fear and to alleviate fear. To encourage and to remember to be encouraged. To achieve maximal efficiency but to resist becoming a machine. To be there for others and to allow others to be there for you. To help others recover, regain, and retain health. To be part of a team with the well being of others the most important team goal. To be as good as we can, to work hard, and to always have a heart. To remember how fortunate we are to get paid to do these things that are just what being human is all about.”
    Sometimes God gets it right.

    (An endowed scholarship for the Brunswick Area Student Aid Fund has been established in the name of Michael Hernandez. For information, go to: http://www.studentaidfund.org.)

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