It can take a lot of soul searching to figure out whether we even made the slightest bit of difference.
As a palliative care specialist, it’s my job to try to relieve pain and suffering.
But pain is not always physical. And how can we relieve more than 70 years of suffering in just one consult?
There are some things that no amount of money or medicine can fix.
Perhaps it is enough to have listened, and for the first time, let someone tell their story without interuption or judgement. To have held space for them. To have forgotten about the time, ignored the next appointment, and let the tears flow unchecked.
It is always such a privilege to share the last hours of someone’s life, and hear their final thoughts, their worries, their concerns and their hopes.
We don’t always come to know the full story, but letting a person say out loud the things that they have bottled up inside – have worried about and been ashamed of their entire life, and have kept secret from even their closest family members – gives them the freedom to let go.
Sometimes there is no prescription to write.
Sometimes showing respect, and allowing someone to maintain their privacy and dignity, and to feel loved and safe, is all we need to do.
This is palliative care. This is nursing. This is enough.