Mrs. M's garden

摘要

IT WAS JUST ANOTHER Monday morning at my job as a homecare hospice nurse. My first assignment was Mr. M, 67, a patient with quad-riplegia who had a diagnosis of bladder cancer with metastasis to the liver. He lived at home with his wife. I arrived at Mr. M's home to find a well-maintained residence with a circular driveway offset by a series of beautifully sculpted rock gardens. I'm not a geologist by any stretch of the imagination, but I can tell ebony from quartz. These gardens had both and much, much more. A small fenced yard adjacent to the house contained children's swings and play sets. The sign over the entrance to the house read "Mrs. M's Day Care."When I'd called to make the appointment for my initial nursing visit, Mrs. M had sounded very business-like, almost cold. She'd consented to my request to visit later in the day, but that had been the extent of our conversation.