When one of my patients passes away, I make a point of reading their obituary in the paper. I don't exactly know why I do it, but if I were pressed for an explanation of it, I guess I'd say that it gives me a sense of closure.
Because I was ill last week I didn't get to see the obit of the patient I sat with Friday before last. However, I was able to find it online this morning.
His family thanked me. ME. For the 'loving kindness' I showed their relative.
That's never happened to me before. It's an incredibly moving thing; I still have tears in my eyes as I think about it.
I'm touched that they appreciated what I did, that they felt like my actions made a difference. I sometimes forget that other people view what I do for hospice as unusual or extraordinary; it's almost rountine to me. So, to be thanked in someone's obituary is a very touching thing.
I'm going to save this particular obituary, and whenever hospice care gets me stressed out I'm going to read it. It'll serve as a reminder that what I do really does make a difference.
I DO make a difference.