"I sat with what they told me for a moment. I recalled how I felt when my dad called me with the news that his thigh pain was from a tumor that had spread from a mass in his lung. I remembered how much I wanted someone to tell me it would be OK, that we would all survive this, that the world, now horrifyingly askew, would somehow right itself."
"I took a breath and leaned forward to look each of them in the eyes. I made sure they heard me when I told them I was there for them, all of them ... including Maria. I said I would be there with them, in the room, and around for hours to watch Maria if she needed anything and to make sure she was safe and taken care of."
A person initially reacts with irritation at an emergency room visit perceived as non-urgent. Family members fear that revealing serious news to Maria could trigger a heart attack or stroke and want someone else to tell her. Memories of a father's cancer diagnosis recall the need for reassurance and the comfort of shared presence. Healing emerges from the love and support family members give each other rather than from medical explanations. The person offers to stay and care for Maria while insisting the family deliver the news themselves. The family agrees and gathers around Maria's bedside.
Read at BuzzFeed
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