Wonderful people

It's a hazard of doing a job which involves you with people of an older generation that once in a while you get the dreaded phone call to say they have passed away. Well, sometimes you get a phone call, other times I get told by a neighbour or another patient when I visit them. Most recently I read about it in the paper.
I always feel sad, even if the person involved could be a grumpy old sod at times.

I like to think of myself as someone who cares about my patients, I do! I like to chat to them, I do ask them questions about themselves and their families even if it is to help them jog their own memories.
I don't always attend their funeral but I do try and send a sympathy card to their nearest and dearest because although they weren't a member of my family and I only saw them every other month, they have become my friend and I hope I've become one of theirs.

The thing that has struck me most recently is just how little I have known about some of my patients and the wonderful things they achieved in their earlier years, before I met them.It's a shame that I only find out some of these interesting things after they are dead and buried!
One most recently had been an actress in her younger years, and although I knew she liked horses I didn't realise until afterwards that she had been a champion in her discipline! How much more we could have talked about!