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Scholarly Commons > HCA Healthcare Journal > Vol. 5 > Iss. 2 (2024)

 

Keywords

dying; humanities; light; medicine in the arts; patient death; photography; rain; self-reflection

Disciplines

Medical Humanities

Abstract

Death does not thrill me anymore. I am a trauma surgeon extraordinaire! The patient had suffered a traumatic brain injury and has struggled for weeks. He is only 16. Today, the family decided to make him “comfort care." I was at the end of my call, exhausted, drained of all energy. I looked out of the ICU window and saw the fading rain and the city lights. It somehow reminded me of a precious life ebbing away, and I burst into a silent scream. I am still human.

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