I am woefully behind on blogging, mostly due to catching up on sleep and spending time with family. The weekend will be covered tomorrow (hopefully). Today is dedicated to yet another instance of delight in the midst of suffering.
One of the patient's I cared for last week celebrated her 67th wedding anniversary on Friday. She was on the palliative care unit and we had discussed her impending death and referral to hospice only the day before. Her family would be meeting with the hospice liaison the following day. But Friday was her anniversary, and it was truly a celebration. I started my morning watching her play with her granddaughter and great-granddaughter. I came back to do her exam an hour later to find her covered in balloons and asking for a straight pin so she could start popping them. Her family put up the balloons and streamers all over her room and her door. She smiled from ear to ear as her husband asked her to marry him again. She said yes. A picture was brought in from when they were married in 1950. They were a stunning couple in black-and-white. There was cake and other snacks. So much joy and fellowship mixed with periods of sadness knowing that it would be their last anniversary celebrated together for some time. But the joy on both husband and wife's faces was unmistakable and unshakable even in the face of profound sorrow of the reasons for her hospitalization and the status of her discharge. It was an honor to be allowed into such a tender, joyful moment. It was a great reminder for what palliative care and hospice are supposed to look like. Not the person dying and groping for closure, but the patient celebrating what life is left to live. It was beautiful.
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