"Live not one's life as though one had a thousand years,

but live each day as the last"

Marcus Aurelius

As a doctor, death is no stranger for me. But even for me, every so often, something touches me & I am reminded of the frailty of life. Recently, an elderly lady who I will call Mabel was found unconscious on the floor by her husband. He immediately dialled 999 & an ambulance brought her to the Emergency Department. I was on duty that day & was responsible for Mabel's care. According to her husband, Mabel had never been ill in her life & it had been many years since she had needed to see a doctor. The day before however, she developed a severe headache. A head scan confirmed our worst suspicions, major internal bleeding in the brain. There was little we could do & Mabel passed away minutes after arriving in hospital.

The worst job I have ever had was breaking the bad news to Mabel's husband who was in a separate room. He knew his wife was ill, but he was still hoping for the best. I took him aside to the small visitor's room in the Emergency department.

"I am sorry, but your wife has just passed away". He was broke down in tears. Although, I had many more patients to tend to, it didn't feel right walking off & leaving him alone. So I stayed with him a little longer to keep him company.

"60 years we have been married together. We fell in love when we were teenagers & have always been in love with each other since". He looked at me with tears in his eyes, "It was only last month that we celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary. It was such a lovely day."

After a brief silence he said, "Please doctor, could I see my wife?". I took him over to the treatment room where her body lay. He took her hand & started talking to her tenderly like she was still there. That's when I could not take anymore.