Facing death

[ericdamiansean]

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I guess all of us have had our patients die on us, some on a daily basis, how do you guys cope with that? A total shut down? I'm sure if you follow up a patient long enough, you would have some amount of attachment, especially when it comes to kids.
Does your med school prepare you for this?

 

[Dimness]

The only reason I saw this thread was because the word "Death" just kind of jumps out at you on the front page of this forum.

I am not a doctor (yet) nor am I a medical student (just got accepted). But I work as a nurse aide in a nursing home, and boy is this something you have to deal with.

From what I gather, nothing really prepares you for death except experience. I'm from a small sample size, but from what I hear from my friends the only death they come in contact with is the cadaver in the medical schools.

Death, most importantly the dying process, is a tough experience to say the least. Everybody has a different way of dealing with it. But in all cases I find that it's something you don't want to deal with alone. Grief is something to be shared, not done in solitude.

 

[deleted87716]

Being an EMT for almost a decade pretty much got me over the whole "shocked by death" thing. After you've rolled up on a few nasty MVAs (including one that included three dead kids in the back seat, and another involving the spouse of one of the medics on the crew), not to mention countless unsuccessful cardiac arrests, you get used to it. That doesn't mean you don't feel anything, but you do your job.

 

[8744]

It depends who dies. Everybody is hit pretty hard when a kid dies. A cracked-out thug or a 95-year-old nursing home paperweight not so much.

For the most part you'll pretty much go home and forget about it. And this is not a defense mechanism, it is just that you won't care nearly as much as the family because, and this sounds really simple, the patient is not your family member and you barely know him.

 

[Shinken]

For me, a 2-week Hospice & Palliative Care rotation taught me a lot about dealing with death & dying patients. In Hospice it was "easier" to deal with it because you knew that pretty much everyone was there to die.

Sometimes dealing with the surviving relatives is just as tough emotionally as dealing with the death of the patient.

 

[ericdamiansean]

My first death was in my first year in medical school, was just passing by and got pulled in for CPR on a guy who went into cardiac arrest and the attending was too tired to pump anymore..needless to say, he died on me...funny thing was, I felt...nothing..empty..I guess you're right, if the person is not family, or it's just some other stranger, you would not feel anything...

But I've had friends who had problems after their first death, should our schools prepare us better for it instead of a lecture or 2 during behavioral sciences about "death" ie. Kubler Ross etc?

 

[Zuwie]

First time I actually saw someone die was when I came into a room during a code. The patient was very old, although I don't know the exact age, but I kinda realized it was his time. Nevertheless, he was full code and received all the resuscitation including aggressive chest compressions. His chest seemed to be totally crushed and he had bruises on his face, probably also resuscitation related. They were almost ready to pronounce when someone found a faint pulse - and the whole thing started again until he was finally pronounced. The experience cardinally changed my view of the DNR order, which now appears to me much more valuable. I'm definitely getting one when I am old, and I also don't want intubations.

Most people outside of medicine think that dying peacefully without your chest crushed and a tube jammed down your throat can be taken for granted, but alas, not so.

 

[babyruth]

Along those lines, in some facilities they are even letting the family watch while resuscitation is going on so that they can see what is being done for their loved one. This is controversial and there are arguments either way, but it is interesting to note that this might be an increasing trend.

 

[deleted87716]

Along those lines, in some facilities they are even letting the family watch while resuscitation is going on so that they can see what is being done for their loved one. This is controversial and there are arguments either way, but it is interesting to note that this might be an increasing trend.

Personally, I think encouraging family members to watch a resuscitation attempt (as most of them are) is a really bad idea, like making small children go up to the deceased at an open-casket funeral. There are some things that are, frankly, best left to the imagination. In rare cases, if a family member genuinely wanted to stay, and they seemed to have it all together, exceptions can be made. In general, however, there are times that we need to be left alone to do our jobs without interruption, and a cardiac arrest is certainly one of those times.

 

[babyruth]

I think the argument here would be, and I am not sure about my opinioin on this argument either way, is that by letting them watch, you are showing them all of the tremendous efforts that docs, nurses, resp therapists, ancillary staff go through to try to save someones life; it also might provide some closure for people---being near them when they breathe their last breath so to speak.

I'm sure that there are probably medicolegal aspects to this argument that are innumerable.

 

[deleted87716]

I know the arguments; the cons far outweigh the pros.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

You just get used to it. Personally, at least for me, the more disturbing parts of patient care are the patients who are suffering horribly but won't die- terminal COPD'ers, lung CA patients, S/P massive CVA, etc. To me that far worse than watching someone "actually" die.

On the subject of families watching, I've never made family members leave the room during resuscitations (in the field mind you) unless they were drunk, disruptive or violent. It seems to give them a sense of comfort that we did really do everything.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

But I've had friends who had problems after their first death, should our schools prepare us better for it instead of a lecture or 2 during behavioral sciences about "death" ie. Kubler Ross etc?

For the love of Christ, please don't add to the suffering.

 

[deleted87716]

I've never made family members leave the room during resuscitations (in the field mind you)

The field is totally different from an ED bay or a hospital room. When I was in EMS, we never ended a code on-scene once resuscitation efforts had begun when there was family present. No matter how long they'd been down, we always coded 'em and loaded 'em. In obviously futile cases, we sometimes ended up calling the code while en route to the hospital after we talked to medical control, but the family never had to see us pull off our gloves and turn off the monitors.

 

[fantasty]

I've only seen one full code and they did allow the wife to come in right before they pronounced him dead. It seems like it would have been much better on her to have her come in after. She wanted to hold his hand and say a few words before he was pronounced, but there were like 15 people in the room (most of whom had not ever met the family before).

As for the original question... we do have some death & dying lectures during our clinical skills classes. Of course, it still pisses me off how many students feel like those "touchy-feely" classes are a waste of time (this one was situated during a 12 week block where we did an intensive prep for the wards, but was also right before boards).

 

[Brickhouse]

My first patient ever in the hospital as a third year died like a week after I saw him. Probably doesn't bode well for me?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

The field is totally different from an ED bay or a hospital room. When I was in EMS, we never ended a code on-scene once resuscitation efforts had begun when there was family present. No matter how long they'd been down, we always coded 'em and loaded 'em. In obviously futile cases, we sometimes ended up calling the code while en route to the hospital after we talked to medical control, but the family never had to see us pull off our gloves and turn off the monitors.

We were expected to work the patient on scene. Our medical director expected us to have a good reason- hypothermia, pediatric patient, ROSC, etc- to have brought a code to the hospital (20 minutes away on a good day). Normally we had the family ushered out of the room- my partner being one of the town's 3 ministers as his "day job" certainly made this much easier most of the time- before we actually ceased working and prepped the body for viewing, called for the coroner, and all the other "post code" activities. If the family objected, we loaded up and pronounced en route (or as soon as the doors of the ambulance closed).

 

[nerfherder]

My first death was in my first year in medical school, was just passing by and got pulled in for CPR on a guy who went into cardiac arrest and the attending was too tired to pump anymore..needless to say, he died on me...funny thing was, I felt...nothing..empty..I guess you're right, if the person is not family, or it's just some other stranger, you would not feel anything...

But I've had friends who had problems after their first death, should our schools prepare us better for it instead of a lecture or 2 during behavioral sciences about "death" ie. Kubler Ross etc?

I don't think any lectures in med school can help anyone deal with seeing codes the first few times. I still get upset a little bit whenever I see someone die, It's not something any human can get over very easily no matter how many codes you've seen.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

It's not something any human can get over very easily no matter how many codes you've seen.

*reads again* *reads yet again, bursts into maniacal laughter*

You've obviously never heard ER or ICU staff say to the doc: "Can we call this already? My food is getting cold."

 

[ericdamiansean]

Honestly, sometimes, especially when it comes to the elderly or certain cases, you and I know for sure that no matter what you do, he/she will end up dead..so, why not let them die with dignity with their families by giving them some massive painkillers ie. palliation, instead of putting in central lines, resuscitating, transfusing etc...at times, I think the resuscitative methods quicken death instead of delaying it..and patients being stretched out on the bed reminds me of Jesus Christ..

Nah, I don't think families should be let in when you're calling in a code..it's traumatizing..
I was putting in a central line some time ago, blinds were closed but some pesky relative kept peeking through every minute or so and reported it to the whole family that the patient was "suffering and under a great deal of pain.." Imagine the amount of unnecessary questions I had to answer at 3am

 

[DOtobe]

Death definitely becomes more routine after being in the hospital for so long. I was a little weirded out the first time I had to pronounce someone, but now it is nothing.

The only death that kind of affected me was the first condition A (which is an arrest at our hospital) I ever ran and the person didn't make it. I felt like it was somehow my fault, but there really was nothing else that could have been done. Then it got worse when I had to tell her 90 year old mother that she didn't make it (the patient was in her 60s).

 

[8744]

I don't think any lectures in med school can help anyone deal with seeing codes the first few times. I still get upset a little bit whenever I see someone die, It's not something any human can get over very easily no matter how many codes you've seen.

Seriously, a lot of the codes we run are on slightly warm corpses which we sometimes manage to snatch from the the jaws of unequivocal death. We get done filling some 78-year-old demented cancer patient with five liters of fluid, have him on three pressors, and are intermittantly sucking large amounts of frothy pink fluid out of his ET tube but he's kind of stable and everybody just kind of looks at each other...all right, we've got him relatively stable at a crappy blood pressure and oxygen saturation...now what do you want us to do? Are we going any place from here?

And then the family comes in and won't accept the fact that it's over because all they see is the guy doing pretty well, all things considered, never mind that if we turned off any one of his drips he'd go down faster than a five dollar hooker on dollar night.

When the family finally does the right thing it's usually a relief, not for any deep emotional reasons but because we do have other patients, notes to write, and work to do. Not to mention that if you are post-call (like I was yesterday) the whole process sets back your departure time to go home and spend time with the living.

That's the way it really is. You go home and forget about it.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Seriously, a lot of the codes we run are on slightly warm corpses which we sometimes manage to snatch from the the jaws of unequivocal death. We get done filling some 78-year-old demented cancer patient with five liters of fluid, have him on three pressors, and are intermittantly sucking large amounts of frothy pink fluid out of his ET tube but he's kind of stable and everybody just kind of looks at each other...all right, we've got him relatively stable at a crappy blood pressure and oxygen saturation...now what do you want us to do? Are we going any place from here?

And then the family comes in and won't accept the fact that it's over because all they see is the guy doing pretty well, all things considered, never mind that if we turned off any one of his drips he'd go down faster than a five dollar hooker on dollar night.

When the family finally does the right thing it's usually a relief, not for any deep emotional reasons but because we do have other patients, notes to write, and work to do. Not to mention that if you are post-call (like I was yesterday) the whole process sets back your departure time to go home and spend time with the living.

That's the way it really is. You go home and forget about it.

As usual, dead on accurate (pun not intended).

 

[Jejton]

The field is totally different from an ED bay or a hospital room. When I was in EMS, we never ended a code on-scene once resuscitation efforts had begun when there was family present. No matter how long they'd been down, we always coded 'em and loaded 'em. In obviously futile cases, we sometimes ended up calling the code while en route to the hospital after we talked to medical control, but the family never had to see us pull off our gloves and turn off the monitors.

What state are you in ? In NY, EMT's are not allowed to stop resucitation efforts once started, and are only allowed to NOT initiate under three circumstances: decapitation, rigor mortis, lividity ( I believe thats the third ). Only a doctor can actually declare death. I volunteered as an EMT in Israel for a few months and they have a system which helps avoid many of the above situations. Intensive care ambulances ( similar to ALS here ) often have doctors as part of the team and they can/do declare death in the field therefore avoiding unneccessary actions.

 

[applemas]

1st time i saw patient die when i was in 2nd year, when i had practical in intensive care unit. The patient: male, 26 years old. The patient had cardiac arrest, CPR was done but failed. At first, i don't have any feeling. But, when i saw the patient's mother and wife cried badly, i feel sad too. That night, i couldn't sleep.

After few cases, i manage to cope with it. No more feeling.
Sometime, i feel that medicine still limit to help people. If the patient is >80 years old, if he passes away, i think he should be satisfy. But, some patient die on young age, i feel rather bad.

 

[applemas]

1st time i saw patient die when i was in 2nd year, when i had practical in intensive care unit. The patient: male, 26 years old. The patient had cardiac arrest, CPR was done but failed. At first, i don't have any feeling. But, when i saw the patient's mother and wife cried badly, i feel sad too. That night, i couldn't sleep.

After few cases, i manage to cope with it. No more feeling.
Sometime, i feel that medicine still limit to help people. If the patient is >80 years old, if he passes away, i think he should be satisfy. But, some patient die on young age, i feel rather bad.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

1st time i saw patient die when i was in 2nd year, when i had practical in intensive care unit. The patient: male, 26 years old. The patient had cardiac arrest, CPR was done but failed. At first, i don't have any feeling. But, when i saw the patient's mother and wife cried badly, i feel sad too. That night, i couldn't sleep.

After few cases, i manage to cope with it. No more feeling.
Sometime, i feel that medicine still limit to help people. If the patient is >80 years old, if he passes away, i think he should be satisfy. But, some patient die on young age, i feel rather bad.

*takes aspirin for headache and mourns the butchering of his native tongue*

 

[deleted87716]

What state are you in ?

I worked in Virginia.

In NY, EMT's are not allowed to stop resucitation efforts once started, and are only allowed to NOT initiate under three circumstances: decapitation, rigor mortis, lividity ( I believe thats the third ). Only a doctor can actually declare death.

We could pronounce death when it was clinically obvious. In the situations where we called the code in the ambulance, the patients had rigor mortis, dependent lividity, or both. We still called medical control, even in those cases.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

My defense mechanism when my first patient coded: After work I enjoyed all of the following: 1) quiet pouting 2) a beer and 3) going to bed.

 

[watermen]

1st time i saw patient die when i was in 2nd year, when i had practical in intensive care unit. The patient: male, 26 years old. The patient had cardiac arrest, CPR was done but failed. At first, i don't have any feeling. But, when i saw the patient's mother and wife cried badly, i feel sad too. That night, i couldn't sleep.

After few cases, i manage to cope with it. No more feeling.
Sometime, i feel that medicine still limit to help people. If the patient is >80 years old, if he passes away, i think he should be satisfy. But, some patient die on young age, i feel rather bad.

What did the patient have? cardiac arrest at such a young age?

 

[DropkickMurphy]

What state are you in ? In NY, EMT's are not allowed to stop resucitation efforts once started, and are only allowed to NOT initiate under three circumstances: decapitation, rigor mortis, lividity ( I believe thats the third ). Only a doctor can actually declare death. I volunteered as an EMT in Israel for a few months and they have a system which helps avoid many of the above situations. Intensive care ambulances ( similar to ALS here ) often have doctors as part of the team and they can/do declare death in the field therefore avoiding unneccessary actions.

Many services have a policy for termination of field resuscitation. Basically some states pulled their heads out of their asses and allowed medical directors to actually *gasp! shock! horror!* decide what their EMT's and medics can and can not do.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

What did the patient have? cardiac arrest at such a young age?

A short list of possibilities.....#4 is a likely cause, particularly in urban settings...
-Congenital heart disease or a conduction abnormality (HCM, Brugada, abberant origin of the coronary arteries)
-Trauma
-Status asthmaticus
-Electrolyte abnormality
-Drug OD
-Early onset coronary artery disease
-Pulmonary embolism
-Massive ICH

One of the kids from my brother's high school dropped dead one Friday afternoon.....autopsy showed he had a 99% occlusion of his RCA and an 85% blockage of his circumflex. 18 y/o, apparently healthy, not obese, no warning, no prior history, just **** happens......

What did the patient have? cardiac arrest at such a young age?

 

[Brickhouse]

A short list of possibilities.....#4 is a likely cause, particularly in urban settings...
-Congenital heart disease or a conduction abnormality (HCM, Brugada, abberant origin of the coronary arteries)
-Trauma
-Status asthmaticus
-Electrolyte abnormality
-Drug OD
-Early onset coronary artery disease
-Pulmonary embolism
-Massive ICH

You get an A+ on your differential for cardiac arrest in a 26 year old. A+.

OK, sorry I'm bored, that was really immature and unnecessary. yet fun....*smirk*

 

[deleted92121]

While I am only a pre-med undergrad, I have seen my share of death.

I watched my grandfather, who I was very close to, slowly succumb to terminal cancer. I watched the entire dying process, including a stroke, a slow lapse into a coma, the mottling process, agonal respirations, and finally death. I was only 16 when this happened. Fast forward to this previous summer, and I watched my grandmother go through the dying process as well. She died of CHF...and she was 99. On top of all this, I volunteer for a hospice service and I am employed as an EMT. I see death,or the process of dying, quite frequently.

The funny thing is, I really don't have a problem with it. I find dying and death to be fascinating, from a scientific stand-point. Even while my family members were dying it amazed me. I think the trick is to look at it from the medical/biological/chemical standpoint...but certainly don't forget the humanity invloved, especially the dignity of the patient and the emotions of the family.

...just my thoughts...😳

dxu

 

[DadofDr2B]

Imagine a patient comes in with congestion and xrays show one lung to be a solid tumor. He is stage 4. The attending is coming to talk to him about DNR papers and your patient has not been told he only has six months to live. You have less than one hour to tell this person he is going to die in six months before the attending is to present DNR papers. How would you handle it?

I know someone who is a third year student who had to break the news because the residents were "busy" somewhere else.

Tough way to earn your stripes.

 

[8744]

Imagine a patient comes in with congestion and xrays show one lung to be a solid tumor. He is stage 4. The attending is coming to talk to him about DNR papers and your patient has not been told he only has six months to live. You have less than one hour to tell this person he is going to die in six months before the attending is to present DNR papers. How would you handle it?

I know someone who is a third year student who had to break the news because the residents were "busy" somewhere else.

Tough way to earn your stripes.

The third year student doesn't have the authority, moral or otherwise, to break that kind of news to the patient. Should have waited for a resident or an attending. I don't know why he couldn't wait, whatever the case. The attending was coming.

 

[RxnMan]

I volunteered in a busy urban ED for two years, so I've seen a good number of people die. One was a trio of kids back from their prom who had rolled their jeep over a cliff. Another had been shot in the face with a shotgun. I asked one of the attendings told me how he dealt with it. He said that everyone has half a dozen responses to anything they see. As a doctor, have to be able to decide on the right responses and get to work. It's fine to feel anger or sadness or whatever, you just don't act to them. Later it gets easier. And kinda like Panda said, the patient is the one with the disease.

 

[njbmd]

Honestly, sometimes, especially when it comes to the elderly or certain cases, you and I know for sure that no matter what you do, he/she will end up dead..so, why not let them die with dignity with their families by giving them some massive painkillers ie. palliation, instead of putting in central lines, resuscitating, transfusing etc...at times, I think the resuscitative methods quicken death instead of delaying it..and patients being stretched out on the bed reminds me of Jesus Christ..

Nah, I don't think families should be let in when you're calling in a code..it's traumatizing..
I was putting in a central line some time ago, blinds were closed but some pesky relative kept peeking through every minute or so and reported it to the whole family that the patient was "suffering and under a great deal of pain.." Imagine the amount of unnecessary questions I had to answer at 3am

I agree with you on the "death with dignity" but why reserve it for the elderly? Any person should be allowed to die with as much dignity as possible in the least amount of pain as possible with family and friends regardless of age. After a few turns on pediatric surgery(as both chief and intern), I have seen too many younger folks who were put through resuscitation after resuscitation until their bodies wore out.

I DO allow family members in during the "code" as long as they do not interfere with the care of the patient. This is especially important for parents of children who have been injured. Most of the time, by observing the attempted resuscitation, a family member(especially a parent) become satisfied that everything that could be done was done. They see the process and see that the "resuscitation" is far different from what they see on the telly.

I generally spend some quality time explaining the whole "central-line" procedure to the family. I am very careful to mention that I using loads of local anesthetic so that their loved one doesn't feel any pain. Sometimes this works and sometimes I have the same problem that you had with the relative "peeking around the curtain". When that happens, I talk to the patient and say things like, "Mrs. Jones, let me know if that hurts and I will give you more numbing medicine", when Mrs. Jones is comatose and WE know that she's isn't feeling any pain.

I never want to "get used to" death. In my four years of practice, since graduation from medical school, I have "made my peace" with death but I have never been able to "get used to it".

 

[MWK]

I volunteer in the ER for 12 hr/s a weekend, so Im there for the busy stuff. We are a trauma center, so I usually see 1 person die a weekend. For me, seeing the patient is ok. I know the team tried (in trauma cases) and there was probably nothing that could be done. Most of the ones I've seen were unrestrained >20 year olds in MVA's.

Yes its sad to see kids my age, but what really sets in is when the family comes to see their deceased highschooler. Thats tough. Really tough. Hearing the cries of genuine pain cuts through you. You've got to soldier on though.

 

[ericdamiansean]

I agree with you on the "death with dignity" but why reserve it for the elderly? Any person should be allowed to die with as much dignity as possible in the least amount of pain as possible with family and friends regardless of age. After a few turns on pediatric surgery(as both chief and intern), I have seen too many younger folks who were put through resuscitation after resuscitation until their bodies wore out.

Yup, it should apply to any age group, pediatric, elderly, mid life etc..

"There is dignity in death, that doctors should never deny"

 

[Zuwie]

*reads again* *reads yet again, bursts into maniacal laughter*

You've obviously never heard ER or ICU staff say to the doc: "Can we call this already? My food is getting cold."

I've had better. A code is called.
My surgery intern: "Is it one of our patients?"
Nurse: "No"
Intern: "Crap, I thought we had an opportunity to reduce our census"

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I've had better. A code is called.
My surgery intern: "Is it one of our patients?"
Nurse: "No"
Intern: "Crap, I thought we had an opportunity to reduce our census"

Outstanding....

Overheard in the ER the other night when we took a code in:
"Trauma 1 for you guys. They've already got the bag down."

 

[8744]

"Why don't we just pour the blood on the floor and eliminate the middle-man."

 

[applemas]

What did the patient have? cardiac arrest at such a young age?

The patient was admitted with the diagnosis diabetic ketoacidosis.

 

[DrWanahbe]

I work in an ICU as a Health Unit Coordinator. When we have a patient who is dying or coding, my job is to do what I can to assist the physicians, nurses and family members by prepping paperwork, making phone calls, ordering blood, whatever is needed. This is in addition to taking care of 11 other beds and other people with other problems along with admissions and discharges.

One day, we have a trauma come through that made national news and who ended up not making it. I was very caught up in everything that was going on. When it was all over, my team lead came up to me and said "We're going to get a patient into Room X". I was stopped dead in my tracks for a minute, thinking "What? We are?" I felt as if the world should have stopped with that truama that I'd dealt with. But it reminded me of the most important thing...no matter what happens, life goes on in the medical world. There will always be others who need our help. And it's my job to be ready for them.

So, how do you deal?

You do what you can to make it better for the patient and the family.

And then you get ready to do it all over again.

 

[8744]

I work in an ICU as a Health Unit Coordinator. When we have a patient who is dying or coding, my job is to do what I can to assist the physicians, nurses and family members by prepping paperwork, making phone calls, ordering blood, whatever is needed. This is in addition to taking care of 11 other beds and other people with other problems along with admissions and discharges.

One day, we have a trauma come through that made national news and who ended up not making it. I was very caught up in everything that was going on. When it was all over, my team lead came up to me and said "We're going to get a patient into Room X". I was stopped dead in my tracks for a minute, thinking "What? We are?" I felt as if the world should have stopped with that truama that I'd dealt with. But it reminded me of the most important thing...no matter what happens, life goes on in the medical world. There will always be others who need our help. And it's my job to be ready for them.

So, how do you deal?

You do what you can to make it better for the patient and the family.

And then you get ready to do it all over again.

Uncle Panda loves HUCs. They are worth their weight in gold.

 

[45408]

I agree with you on the "death with dignity" but why reserve it for the elderly? Any person should be allowed to die with as much dignity as possible in the least amount of pain as possible with family and friends regardless of age. After a few turns on pediatric surgery(as both chief and intern), I have seen too many younger folks who were put through resuscitation after resuscitation until their bodies wore out.

I think the difference is that a child has NOT had a long, fulfilling life, and the chance to accomplish their goals, whereas my grandpa, who is nearing death in the next few weeks, has done those things. I think that's why people see a difference.

 

[ericdamiansean]

I think the difference is that a child has NOT had a long, fulfilling life, and the chance to accomplish their goals, whereas my grandpa, who is nearing death in the next few weeks, has done those things. I think that's why people see a difference.

Different ppl see it differently..some see kids dying as worse and vice versa. But every death should be treated with dignity.

 

[ocean11]

The worst thing I've seen so far, was a 23 year old female patient diagnosed with AML, her CBC counts were low and she fell into a coma and was close to dying. The hardest thing was seeing her family, especially her mother. It was really sad, no one should have to die that young, its really terrible! may she rest in peace AMEN