13.
“I will remember this patient until the day I die. Thanks to him, I understood with blinding clarity what hospice care is for. We will call him Vladimir He was 101 years old and in a diabetic coma, so when he regained consciousness, his medical history suggests that he was a professional dancer when he was younger. and outlived his entire family, including his only grandchild, a visitor while in my unit at the hospital.”
“I used to sit by his bedside and write chart notes to keep him company. Sometimes I would read him the newspaper or tell him a joke. Weeks went on and Vladimir didn't have any seizures, so I didn't do anything.'' I don't know if he could hear me, but I definitely didn't.
But one Monday morning, as I was at his bedside as usual, I suddenly felt like I was being watched. I looked up from my chart to find Vlad's intense blue eyes staring haughtily at me.
“Do you want me to live?!?” he demanded.
I was so surprised that I stuttered. “Hmm… sure!”
“Then buy me…chocolate ice cream!” he thundered back.
“Wait here,” I said stupidly and ran to the nurses' station.
Patient 20A had just regained consciousness, so I asked the charge nurse where I could buy some chocolate ice cream, and she asked me specifically.
Without turning around, she said, “His main diagnosis is uncontrolled diabetes, so we can't give him anything like 20A ice cream or chocolate.''
“Yes, I can,” I replied. “His condition is terminal.” This may be the last time he gets to taste ice cream before he dies. Do you want to tell him that he can't eat it and that he needs to eat sugar-free jelly instead for health? What does that mean? ”
“Yeah, now that you mention it… you can usually find individual servings of ice cream at Maternity.”
So Vlad got a half pint of chocolate ice cream and gleefully savored each spoonful, winking and smiling at me.
Then he sighed, closed his eyes, and passed away. ”
—Sabrina Woakes, Quora
