By THY VO and LUCY HAGGARDMarch 6, 2021 GMT
DENVER (AP) Maria McLain Cox deals in uncertainty.
The longtime hospital chaplain has been with patients through chemotherapy and new diagnoses. She comforts couples who have lost infants, the families of stroke victims and people who were rushed to the emergency room and didn’t survive.
There are no words McLain Cox can say to ward off difficulty, or make it pass more quickly. But she can offer her presence. She talks to the worried and grieving through what they’re feeling, or they might sit together silently. She might offer a hug. Some reach out to hold her hand as they pray. Sometimes it’s a Coke from the vending machine that forges a connection.