Facing Death

I had two patients die during my shifts last week with one of them experiencing a cardiac arrest after my assistant and I walked them in the hallway and settled them in a bedside chair. I sat with the patient's unnerved son as the code blue team attempted an unsuccessful resuscitation. Health workers distance themselves emotionally from most deaths in the hospital but I try to remember the patients and their stories if I have been involved with them. 

At church yesterday, before the service started, I met a friend I worked with at the hospital for over 15 years. We are the same age and our children went to the same schools together. I had not seen her since the start of the pandemic and she shared that was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. She now has metastatic disease and is preparing for death. She said she was at peace and happy for each day she could enjoy, but she felt sad because she didn't like goodbyes. Her faith is strong and every aspect of the service was divinely tailored for her. From the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness, the anthem May Who All Who Come Behind us Find us Faithful, to the gospel reading and sermon from Luke 12:22-32. 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life...“Do not be afraid, little flock..."

Later in the day my daughter, knowing about the events of my week, insisted that I watch episode 6 of the new Netflix series, The Sandman. I knew nothing of the comic books or the storyline but the episode The Sound of Her Wings can be watched without previous context.  Morpheus/Dream and Death spend time together in the first segment of the show as various people faced Death. The other storyline was an exploration of what it would be like to be immortal. All the grief I had absorbed this week came out in tears as I watched this beautifully acted, brilliant one-hour segment. 

Life is made richer by artistic expressions that allow us to explore aspects of our existence that are difficult to talk about and may cause fear. Whether it is a painting, a sculpture, a book or poem, a play, a movie, or a musical composition, creative artistic works open our minds and souls to contemplate the joy and beauty of life as well as our struggles, and sorrows and the inevitability of death.