This was bound to happen one day, I knew it. But, I didn't know it will
happen so soon. Mr. Polite passed away early this week. The hospice
coordinator called me early this week to share the news. At that time,
the news did not sink in. Besides, I was occupied with a lot of work to
actually think about it. That evening when I was driving back home, his
images kept flashing in front of my eyes. He was so polite, so
courteous. He was a charmer, even at this age. Even though we did not
spend a lot of time together, but I did get to know him a little bit.
Its sad that he had to leave, but I'm sure he is in a better place. God
bless his soul.
I made my usual visit to the hospice. I was bummed out after hearing Mr. Polite's news, so I was not in the best of my moods. My spirits were low. My routine would be to say Hi to Mr. Polite first, sit and chat with him before meeting others. He used to have a specific place where he would have dinner every night. But, this time, there was no one there. That spot was empty. I moved on.
I was looking Miss Lovely Smile. I was told that she was in her room. Like last time, I decided to go see her in her room. She was sitting on her wheelchair with her back towards the door. I went up to say Hi to her, but the response was not as enthusiastic as last time. She was going to start eating her dinner so I offered to serve. She seemed to be very tired. I was trying to talk to her, but she would give me a blank look. Sometimes she would give a huge smile, other times she would get lost in her thoughts. She seemed to be confused. It could be the effect of the medications. So, after every few minutes, I would try to strike a conversation with her, but all futile.
My expectations from her had risen after the positive responses from her the last few times. Even if her behavior was normal this time, it was a let down for me because I'm used to seeing a cheerful lady with a smile on her face. Nevertheless, I stayed with her for some time trying to keep up a conversation. When I left, I wasn't very happy with the day.
I got back home and got a chance to ponder over stuff. I recalled that all this while I knew the patients are in their final years/months/weeks of their lives. Death is a natural phenomenon. We can't fight it and we have no option other than to accept it and move on. The least I can do it make these last few moments enjoyable.
A lesson to learn here is that all of us will die, some sooner than later. What is important is to live each day. Do something good every day/week/month/year that makes your life worth living. Its karma. Be open in your views. Learn from people around you, learn from their experiences, learn from failure and from success. When your time comes, you will look back and wonder if you did what you wanted to do. At that time, you want to answer a big 'YES'.
I made my usual visit to the hospice. I was bummed out after hearing Mr. Polite's news, so I was not in the best of my moods. My spirits were low. My routine would be to say Hi to Mr. Polite first, sit and chat with him before meeting others. He used to have a specific place where he would have dinner every night. But, this time, there was no one there. That spot was empty. I moved on.
I was looking Miss Lovely Smile. I was told that she was in her room. Like last time, I decided to go see her in her room. She was sitting on her wheelchair with her back towards the door. I went up to say Hi to her, but the response was not as enthusiastic as last time. She was going to start eating her dinner so I offered to serve. She seemed to be very tired. I was trying to talk to her, but she would give me a blank look. Sometimes she would give a huge smile, other times she would get lost in her thoughts. She seemed to be confused. It could be the effect of the medications. So, after every few minutes, I would try to strike a conversation with her, but all futile.
My expectations from her had risen after the positive responses from her the last few times. Even if her behavior was normal this time, it was a let down for me because I'm used to seeing a cheerful lady with a smile on her face. Nevertheless, I stayed with her for some time trying to keep up a conversation. When I left, I wasn't very happy with the day.
I got back home and got a chance to ponder over stuff. I recalled that all this while I knew the patients are in their final years/months/weeks of their lives. Death is a natural phenomenon. We can't fight it and we have no option other than to accept it and move on. The least I can do it make these last few moments enjoyable.
A lesson to learn here is that all of us will die, some sooner than later. What is important is to live each day. Do something good every day/week/month/year that makes your life worth living. Its karma. Be open in your views. Learn from people around you, learn from their experiences, learn from failure and from success. When your time comes, you will look back and wonder if you did what you wanted to do. At that time, you want to answer a big 'YES'.
No comments:
Post a Comment