The gift is life

摘要

"He's in serious trouble-someone better talk to the mother about it," said the nurse, as I approached the patient's room. As the attending physician, I was the designated "someone" who had to tell a mother that she would be taking her teenage son home to die.I paused in the hallway to review the patient's chart. The boy had a neuro-metabolic degenerative disease. He had gradually lost physical strength and coordination to the point of requiring assistance with simple daily activities. He had been admitted many times in the past year for dehydration, pneumonia, and seizures.