For hospice nurses, death is simply a part of the job. They are often with patients at the end of their lives and care for them in their final dying moments. A few of these stoic health workers have come forward to share heart-warming stories about their most memorable patients. In a particularly heart-wrenching case, one hospice nurse recalled a sickly older couple’s request to have their beds placed together before they passed away within days of one another. Some requests are simple: dying patients wanting to see their pets for the last time or wanting their favorite cup of tea. Despite these lovely anecdotes, many in hospice care die painful, lonely deaths. A year ago, Government officials declared their commitment to improving the care for the dying in England through their General Election Manifesto. As it stands, there is still much work to be done.
See Kara O’Neill & Rachel Bishop, From Secret Regrets To a Glimpse of Heaven, Hospice Nurses Reveal Heart-wrenching Final Words of Patients Before they Die, Mirror, November 14, 2017.
Special thanks to Molly Neace, estate tax attorney, for bringing this article to my attention.
