"She stopped all medical treatment except for comfort measures and entered hospice care in her home. She lay in her custom bed and looked out the windows of her sun-filled bedroom. She took pain medications as needed. She laughed and enjoyed the company of others. She had a wonderful portrait taken of her family in funny Easter bonnets. It was such a joy to be with her; her daughter never had any problem getting volunteers to help with her care. We all happily took shifts. And then, one morning, she quietly passed away....I always thought, If I had received Sally’s diagnosis, I would have fought it with every medical tool available — chemo, radiation, clinical trials of any kind. I wouldn’t have spent my last months in a sunny room on a soft bed; I would have been hooked up to tubes, puking my guts out. I wouldn’t have been afraid of anything. Bring it on. Anything, that is, except death. After her death, I realized that I was the one blinded by fear. Sally could clearly see the outcome she wanted: as much time as possible to feel well and enjoy her family; a calm and dignified death. And, because of her bravery, those are the things she got."
What a nurse learned from a patient who wasn't afraid to die
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