grandma's last gift

yesterday I earned my money at work....not that it was super busy or even that I had the extra work of having to precept a student the last few days (I'll get back to that). But I had to help a patient and their family get ready over the beginning of the week to get ready to go home to die with hospice. The other staff that I was working with had no experience with that. As ICU nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists...we are all in the mode of saving people and we view death as the ultimate enemy. So changing gears to view it as the promised end of the situation is tough. I had an unfair advantage though...I have been on the flip side of that very situation. I have been in the 'family's shoes'. I very clearly remember the feelings that we as a family went through when we brought Grandma Delores home to be at home, to be pain free, to live out her last days in her own home, and to be with the ones she held dear to her. This patient's daughter is going to be her primary care giver, along with her siblings...this so parallels what happened with Grandma. You could see the overwhelmed look in their eyes as we went over the many different things that they would be responsible for. And I knew exactly how they felt...as I have lived that out practically in my own family and I was able to draw from that..so thank you Grandma...thank you for having the courage to face the truth with strength and grace not only for us, because of course you taught us so much from that...but I am able to apply it to so many situations in my career...having a special understanding for families affected by cancer, by hospice, or by death. Thank you Grandma!